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The Portable Atheist
- Essential Readings for the Nonbeliever
- Narrated by: Nicholas Ball
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
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Publisher's Summary
Christopher Hitchens continues to make the case for a splendidly godless universe in this first-ever gathering of the influential voices past and present that have shaped his side of the current (and raging) God/no-god debate. With Hitchens as your erudite and witty guide, you'll be led through a wealth of philosophy, literature, and scientific inquiry, including generous portions of the words of Lucretius, Benedict de Spinoza, Charles Darwin, Karl Marx, Mark Twain, George Eliot, Bertrand Russell, Emma Goldman, H. L. Mencken, Albert Einstein, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, and many others well-known and lesser known. And they're all set in context and commented upon as only Christopher Hitchens, "political and literary journalist extraordinaire" (Los Angeles Times), can.
Atheist? Believer? Uncertain? No matter: The Portable Atheist will speak to you and engage you every step of the way.
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- Jason Bromell
- 11-10-2020
Why would you set the chapters up that way?
I own this book but have been busy so thought I would listen to it first. The narrator is great for the topic. Some of the chapters are difficult because of the era of the language, so probably delve deeper with those in the physical book. But when you have 47 chapters in the book, why would you make the audio book 10 chapters long. (10 hours equals 10 chapters maybe?- I just don’t get it) So if you want to find Mark Twain for example... well, good luck (think he is in chapter 5 somewhere by the way).
I will be giving this audio book back for a credit and hopefully they fix the chapters. Then, I will 100% re-purchase.
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- Anonymous User
- 14-01-2021
Christopher Hitchens at his brilliant best
Christopher Hitchens at his brilliant best. Captured the attention from start to finish. highly recommended if you are interested in science and rationale over superstition and religion
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- Priti Duffield
- 12-03-2018
Essential source of wisdom for those who seek it
Whilst perhaps a tad overlong - it is thus comprehensive. Hitchens has done the heavy lifting of worthwhile entry points to further reading. I wish this book had been around in the early 70’s!
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- Stephen
- 20-04-2017
Good book, poor narrator
The writings of Hitchens is excellent. However the audible version of this book is let down by the narrator. Admittedly challenging to match Hitchens enthusiasm and energy, this narrator is not on point.
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2 people found this helpful
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- ST
- 26-08-2019
A bit dry and academic
Disclaimer: I only got 1/3rd of the way through, I couldn't get any further.
OK so I like Hitchens but the other authors in this book don't have an ounce of his panache for writing.
I'm sure they're all very important thinkers but their writing is mostly very stuffy and academic.
It felt like studying for an exacting exam on historic atheist thought.
If you're expecting witty engaging writing like Hitchens', there's not a whole lot of it on display here (unless it really picks up further in the book). I'd recommend this for someone willing to engage with academic writings on atheism rather than someone looking for a well-paced, engaging read.
Furthermore, this is a heavily abridged version.
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- Anonymous User
- 04-12-2019
boring
I love Christopher Hitchens but this book sucked the life out of me, and the narrator is horrible.
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- Amazon Customer
- 23-04-2017
Incomplete
Unabridged my ass. This is only half the book. Of the 47 chapters, this audiobook has omitted 23. What the hell.
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8 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 22-11-2022
Incomplete book
The last 4 (large) chapters of the book are missing. This is an incomplete audiobook.
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