An interesting one. Is slightly polemical, inviting the reader to accept the notion that atheism is intimately linked with liberation and over throwing authority, but then failing to satisfactorily demonstrate this. To claim that atheism(s) is about challenging the platonic order of society does the same disservice to atheists that they so often do to the religious; it does not answer the question of why people fundamentally believe something. If someone can claim that, in spite of the lack of evidence, they still believe in God, someone can equally claim that they fundamentally do not. If reasons for belief can be philosophical and psychological as well as political the same can be said of reasons for non-belief.

Generally the criticisms of atheists thinkers are fair. The strongest criticism is reserved for the 'new atheists' such as Hitchens and Dawkins. These are easy targets though, serious atheists thinkers are as likely to take 'The God Deliusion' seriously as they are ravings of a man at speakers corner. Over all though well worth dipping into.

I'm so glad to be done with this book! It is full of interesting information but disappointing to read because of its meandering (lack of) organization and its glibness about assessing the strength of various movements or arguments in the history of atheism. I am coming away from the book with a sense that atheism has often been thought to be a stance on the source of moral or political authority. However, the 20th century, with its authoritarian regimes seeking (and failing) to stamp out religion in favor of a scientific world view has changed the conversation somewhat. The last chapter in the book was intriguing in its critique of what it called the New Atheism--Christopher Hitchens and others painting all religious belief as adherence to a set of historical/factual propositions (as in Christian fundamentalism) and thus worthy of ridicule--but Spencer doesn't do enough to fill out his arguments. My main source of enjoyment in reading this book was in the amusing anecdotes about characters in the history of atheism. Unfortunately, they were not enough to make this a satisfying read.