Customer Reviews
Assembling the dissenters - By: Stephen A. Haines, 04 Oct 2008 
Producing books on "a-theism" have become something of a cottage industry. There are scholars such as Atran, Boyer & Lewis-Williams examining how humans deal with the spiritual realm. General science has finally entered the fray by demonstrating the lack of evidence for gods with Richard Dawkins' recent book. And philosophers have at last conceded religion is a proper topic for research investigation. Nearly all these works are by individual writers & an anthology of those works is now overdue.
This little tome offers readers a different tack, bothin approach & style. On the bookstore shelf, the first thing one notices is the lack of an editor's credit. Fitting, as it'sin line with the example set by its predecessor. There is no opening essay to explain or justify the publication of the book. A short disclaimer notes that some citations are from works of fiction & that authors don't always use fabricated characters as a mouthpiece for their own views. This, of course, immediately raises the question of out of context quotes. Each citation must, therefore, be considered on its face value.
The citations, which are derived from a broad chronology of human expressions, are arrangedin "Books of" with a particular topic or individual as the focus. Some, such as "Genesis", bear little resemblance to the original model. Neither whipping up a universe, staffing it with an "Original Couple", & human submission to divine wrath appears. Instead, the issue of whether that scenario, or the idea that humans create their own gods should prevail is the central theme.
Other Books are more tightly focussed. One is given over to examining the role given women by the original combined with declarations of women over the years concerning that role. Several Books are lists of quotes by particular authors, notably Ambrose Beirce, Mark Twain & Robert Ingersoll - leading commentators on the topic. Konner has thoroughly combed the literature to glean a fine harvest of material for this book. Its slim size must not deceive the potential reader into thinking there's little of convincing value here. Quite the reverse. Anyone wondering why there is such a thing as "a-theism" should consider taking this up - a treasure of answers will bring Enlightenment [p. 16]. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
Thoughts from a humanist - By: Mrs. D. Russell, 09 Dec 2007 
This book should be prescribed reading for anyone who has doubts about their faith. For the atheist/agnostic it is meat & drink. I had no idea that so many illustrious people were of a similar mind to me. But if you are committed to a religion & also feel threatened by criticism then this book is definitely not for you.
