REVIEWS, EXCERPTS from John Allen Paulos' IRRELIGION: A Mathematician Explains Why the Arguments for God Just Don't Add Up
PAPERBACK EDITION - OUT IN JUNE, 2009
Raleigh Durham News & Observer review of IRRELIGION:
"He is as sure-footed as a tiger as he prowls through the theocratic landscape pouncing on sloppy thinking. To a large extent he succeeds in demolishing the arguments of believers."
Toronto Star review of IRRELIGION:
"Paulos's latest offering is a slim but explosive volume whose title is self-explanatory"
IRRELIGION in Publishers Weekly:
"Few of the recent books on atheism have been worth reading just for
wit and
style, but this is one of them: Paulos is truly funny."
Skeptic Magazine
review of IRRELIGION:"Irreligion will, I'm confident, take a distinguished
place
in what one might call the canonical literature of the New Atheism."
3 Quarks Daily review of IRRELIGION:
"... refutations of twelve arguments for the existence of God ...
[presented] with verve, a robust prose, and a very welcome sense of humor."
New Scientist review of IRRELIGION:
"Readable
and concise, with moments of great logical rigour and dry wit."
Amicus Dei review of IRRELIGION:
"Paulos ... knocks the props from under the classic arguments for the existence of God. ... strange coming from a Baptist pastor, but let me explain.
.... written with a charming skepticism that is not off-putting or arrogant."
Daily NY Times review of IRRELIGION (typo - limpid, not lumpy):
"Writing in clear, direct prose, Mr. Paulos shows how even everyday references to purpose and intention can be easily reformulated in scientific, nonpurposive terms."
IRRELIGION in Kirkus Review:
"He has, thank Someone,
considerable wit. ...
Reasoned, cool and concise - a good-natured primer for infidels.
Endorsements
John Allen Paulos has done us all a great service. Irreligion is an elegant and timely response to the manifold ignorance that still goes by the name of
'faith' in the 21st century. -- Sam Harris, author of the New York Times best sellers, The End of Faith and Letter to a Christian Nation
He's done it again. John Allen Paulos has written a charming book that takes you on a sojourn of flawless logic, with simple and clear examples drawn from math, science, and pop culture. At journey's end, Paulos has left you with plenty to think about, whether you are religious, irreligious, or anything in between. -- Neil deGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist, American Museum of Natural History and author of Death By Black Hole and Other Cosmic Quandaries,
For years John Allen Paulos has been our guide for reading newspapers, playing the stock market, and understanding what all those graphs and charts and formulas really mean. No one knows how to dissect an argument better than Paulos. Now he has turned his rapier wit to the grandest question of them all: is there a God? Those who are religious skeptics will find in Paulos's analysis new ways of looking at both old and new arguments, and those who believe that God's existence can be proven through science, reason, and logic will have to answer to this mathematician's penetrating analysis. -- Michael Shermer, Publisher of Skeptic magazine, monthly columnist for Scientific American, and the author of How We Believe, The Science of Good and Evil, and Why Darwin Matters
Using the methods of mathematics, reason and logic, Paulos wrestles religious belief systems to the ground and in the process proves he is as good a writer as he is a mathematician. The book is short, to the point and humorous, and God knows, this subject could use more humor. -- Joan Konner, Dean Emerita of the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism and editor of The Atheist's Bible
Another virtuoso performance from a master in the use of mathematics to explore the conundrums and mysteries of everyday
life.--Sylvia Nasar, author of A Beautiful Mind
Freakonomics comment on the new atheistic books, including Irreligion
Amazon link to Irreligion
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