Presents excerpts on the subject of religion from the writings of such notable non-believers as John Stuart Mill, Karl Marx, Charles Darwin, Mark Twain, H. L. Mencken, Albert Einstein, Richard Dawkins, and Salman Rushdie. Christopher Hitchens's personally curated New York Times bestselling anthology of the most influential and important writings on atheism, including original pieces by Salman Rushdie and Ian McEwan Acknowledgments xi Introduction xiii Christopher Hitchens from De Rerum Natura (On the Nature of Things), Book I 1(6) W. Hannaford Brown Lucretius from Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam: A Paraphrase from Several Literal Translations 7(5) Richard Le Gallienne Omar Khayyam Of Religion, from Leviathan 12(9) Thomas Hobbes Theological-Political Treatise 21(5) Benedict De Spinoza The Natural History of Religion 26(20) David Hume Of Miracles 32(14) An Account of My Last Interview with David Hume, Esq. 46(4) James Boswell A Refutation of Deism 50(7) Percy Bysshe Shelley Moral Influences in My Early Youth, From Autobiography 57(7) John Stuart Mill Contribution to the Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right 64(11) Karl Marx Evangelical Teaching 75(18) George Eliot Autobiography 93(4) Charles Darwin An Agnostic's Apology 97(15) Leslie Stephen Miracle 112(4) Anatole France Thoughts of God, From Fables of Man 116(7) Mark Twain Bible Teaching and Religious Practice, From Europe and Elsewhere and A Pen Warmed Up In Hell 119(4) Author's Note to The Shadow Line 123(3) Joseph Conrad God's Funeral 126(3) Thomas Hardy The Philosophy of Atheism 129(5) Emma Goldman A Letter on Religion 134(4) H. P. Lovecraft Why I Am An Unbeliever 138(5) Carl Van Doren Memorial Service 143(4) H. L. Mencken From The Future of an Illusion Translated and edited 147(8) James Strachey Sigmund Freud Selected Writings on Religion 155(11) Albert Einstein From A Clergyman's Daughter 166(2) George Orwell In Westminster Abbey 168(2) John Betjeman Monism and Religion 170(11) Chapman Cohen An Old Story 178(3) An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish 181(26) Bertrand Russell Aubade 207(4) Philip Larkin Church Going 209(2) The Wandering Jew and the Second Coming 211(7) Martin Gardner The Demon-Haunted World 218(21) Carl Sagan The God Hypothesis 226(13) From Roger's Version 239(7) John Updike Conclusions and Implications, From The Miracle of Theism: Arguments for and against the Existence of God 246(21) J. L. Mackie Genesis Revisited: A Scientific Creation Story 267(3) Michael Shermer That Undiscovered Country 270(7) A. J. Ayer Thank Goodness! 277(5) Daniel C. Dennett From A Farewell to God, A Personal Word 282(5) Charles Templeton Questions to Ask Yourself 285(2) Why There Almost Certainly Is No God 287(24) Richard Dawkins Gerin Oil 305(2) Atheists for Jesus 307(4) From God: the Failed Hypothesis, Cosmic Evidence 311(17) Victor Stenger A Working Definition of Religion, From ``Breaking Which Spell?'' 328(5) Daniel C. Dennett If God Is Dead, Is Everything Permitted? 333(16) Elizabeth Anderson There Is No God 349(2) Penn Jillette End of the World Blues 351(15) Ian McEwan What About God? From Dreams of a Final Theory 366(14) Steven Weinberg ``Imagine There's No Heaven'': A Letter to the Six Billionth World Citizen 380(4) Salman Rushdie The Koran 384(70) Ibn Warraq The Totalitarian Nature of Islam 445(9) In the Shadow of God, From The End of Faith 454(19) Sam Harris Can an Athiest Be a Fundamentalist? From Against All Gods 473(4) A. C. Grayling How (and Why) I Became an Infidel 477(4) Ayaan Hirsi Ali Credits and Permissions 481(4) Index 485