Sociology, Atheism, Politics & Social Sciences 

Publisher Comments
Christopher Hitchens, described in the London Observer as “one of the most prolific, as well as brilliant, journalists of our time” takes on his biggest subject yet–the increasingly dangerous role of religion in the world.
In the tradition of Bertrand Russells Why I Am Not a Christian and Sam Harriss recent bestseller, The End Of Faith, Christopher Hitchens makes the ultimate case against religion. With a close and erudite reading of the major religious texts, he documents the ways in which religion is a man-made wish, a cause of dangerous sexual repression, and a distortion of our origins in the cosmos. With eloquent clarity, Hitchens frames the argument for a more secular life based on science and reason, in which hell is replaced by the Hubble Telescopes awesome view of the universe, and Moses and the burning bush give way to the beauty and symmetry of the double helix. 

Synopsis
Christopher Hitchens, described in the London Observer as one of the most prolific, as well as brilliant, journalists of our time takes on his biggest subject yet-the increasingly dangerous role of religion in the world.
With his unique brand of erudition and wit, Hitchens describes the ways in which religion is man-made. God did not make us, he writes. We made God. He explains the ways in which religion is immoral: We damage our children by indoctrinating them. It is a cause of sexual repression, violence, and ignorance. It is a distortion of our origins and the cosmos.

In the place of religion, Hitchens offers the promise of a new enlightenment through science and reason, a realm in which hope and wonder can be found through a strand of DNA or a gaze through the Hubble Telescope. As Hitchens sees it, you needn't get the blues once you discover the heavens are empty.

About the Author
Christopher Hitchens is the author of Letters to a Young Contrarian, and the bestseller No One Left to Lie To: The Values of the Worst Family. A regular contributor to Vanity Fair, The Atlantic Monthly and Slate, Hitchens also writes for The Weekly Standard, The National Review, and The Independent, and has appeared on The Daily Show, Charlie Rose, The Chris Matthews Show, Real Time with Bill Maher, and C-Spans Washington Journal. He was named one of the worlds “Top 100 Public Intellectuals” by Foreign Policy and Britains Prospect. Christopher Hitchens lives in Washington, D.C. 

Genre/Form: Controversial literature
Document Type: Book
All Authors / Contributors: Christopher Hitchens

ISBN: 9780771041433 0771041438 9780771041426 077104142X
OCLC Number: 1063857910
Description: 307 pages ; 24 cm
Contents: Putting it mildly --
Religion kills --
A short digression on the pig, or, Why Heaven hates ham --
A note on health, to which religion can be hazardous --
The metaphysical claims of religion are false --
Arguments from design --
Revelation : the nightmare of the Old Testament --
The New Testament exceeds the evil of the Old one --
The Koran is borrowed from both Jewish and Christian myths --
The tawdriness of the miraculous and the decline of Hell --
"The lowly stamp of their origin" : religion's corrupt beginnings --
A coda : how religions end --
Does religion make people behave better? --
There is no "Eastern" solution --
Religion as an original sin --
Is religion child abuse? --
An objection anticipated : the last-ditch "case" against secularism --
A finer tradition : the resistance of the rational --
In conclusion : the need for a new Enlightenment.
Responsibility: Christopher Hitchens.