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| The God Delusion | 
 enlarge | Author: Richard Dawkins
Publisher: Mariner Books
Category: Book
List Price: $15.95 (37.55 RON)
Buy New: $10.31 (24.27 RON)
You Save: $5.64 (13.28 RON) (35%)
Avg. Customer Rating:  1321 reviews
Sales Rank: 186
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 464
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.4 x 1.3
ISBN: 0618918248
Dewey Decimal Number: 211
EAN: 9780618918249
ASIN: 0618918248
Publication Date: January 16, 2008
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews:
 Have some other reviewers even read this book? December 17, 2008
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
Some of these reviews make me wonder if the people reviewing them have actually read the book or if they are just typing in a negative review to defend their god and their religion. I just read this book and found it exhilarating! The author doesn't come across as "sad" or unduly "angry" to me. I don't find the tone of the book hostile as one reviewer asserted unless hostility is holding religion up to scrutiny and daring to ask honest questions. A great point of this book is that we treat religion as a sacred cow (pun intended) and never ask really honest questions about its claims and the circular or faulty logic used to support them. As for the reviewer who said he has a grudge against religion, perhaps he does in as far as it has pushed for an unwarranted privileged place in public discourse and public policy and raised itself up as a daunting obstacle to being able to give kids, in the US at least, a good education. Quite honestly, I found the blurb from Publishers Weekly to miss the mark when its assertions about the hostility of this book. I simply didn't find that. I read this book after being a Christian for the better part of 40 years. I loved this book. I think this book is liberating and the simple honesty of it is truly refreshing. After giving god and Jesus the benefit of the doubt for so long, this book helped me realize that if god is who he or she is reported to be in the "holy" writings, he or she shouldn't need the benefit of the doubt. Far from leaving the reader in an existential state of hopelessness, I think the book leaves one with a sense of wonder and awe of nature and the process of natural selection. I highly recommend this wonderful book. Rock on Dawkins and thank you from the bottom of my newly atheist heart!
Enlightening December 16, 2008
2 out of 5 found this review helpful
Not only does Dawkins show a mastery of the science of evolutionary biology, but his in depth understanding of the logical fallacies and misunderstandings that many people believe to be reputable opposition to the science of evolution gives him a unique perspective. He is able to accurately show the flaws of many of these arguments from an inside understanding that many skeptics could never hope to posses. Simply awesome
Incredibly logical and thorough December 16, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
Dawkins raises many good arguements that religion usually doesn't have to face. he presents his arguements in a very well researched and witty manner. Even if you aren't atheist, I recommend this book, if nothing else, to get you thinking.
Great for atheists, but inaccurate portrayal of Christians December 16, 2008
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
I was hesitating whether to give this book three stars or four stars. On one hand, I think the book is excellent in many ways, well-written, and even fun to read as Dawkins exhibits amazing eloquence in his writing. Dawkins makes many excellent arguments against the existence of a God. To the atheist, this book serves as a fantastic guide from a scientist's perspective.
But now for the other hand: Dawkins may have had some religious beliefs while a child, but he ditched them at a very young age, and has completely lost site of what it's like to be a Christian. Although there are exceptions in this book, for the most part he portrays Christians as a bunch of dumb, uneducated, gullible bumpkins who just fall for the religious line without question.
He fails to understand just how deep the religious mindset goes and why it's more than just falling for some words from the pulpit. I have lived as a Christian, and I felt it and understood it. God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit were very real to me until I was about 30. It was only after that that I started to question things and realize that what I felt might not really be coming from a supernatural entity. And breaking free was by no means easy. It was a huge, pain-filled struggle, one which left scars that I still have to this day.
These are issues that Dawkins cannot relate to, because he hasn't been there.
So while this book is an excellent resource for atheists, it's unlikely that it converted many religious people to atheism. More likely all it has done is anger them.
Do I recommend this book? Yes. I recommend it to everyone, religious people and atheists alike. But I don't think it will have its intended outcome with many religious people.
Jeff Mark
Author, Christian No More
This book changed my life. December 16, 2008
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
For anyone who is wondering if this book is right for them: you will only enjoy this book if you are already open to the idea of a universe without a god. If you are a firm believer in your particular religion, then there is little chance that Dawkins will be able to shake you from you world view.
For me, someone who was already atheist before reading, this book was life changing. This book was able to sum up a whole spectrum of ideas that I was not able to put my finger on before. If you want to be able to have a more intelligent discussion about god, something more than "you're an idiot", then you must read this book.
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