Richard's Dawkins' "The God Delusion" -

Hi Roryrory

Yep, I've read The God Delusion (a while ago now), it didn't really open me up to anything because I was already a pretty committed atheist, so Dawkins was preaching to the converted with me. But I have loved some of his other books - The Blind Watchmaker was great and gave great explanations for how life on earth has come to be with no creator. I did find Dawkins' tone in TGD a bit full on really, and I thought it's the kind of thing that would be more likely to put off people who weren't already atheists. But I think it's great that TGD and all the other atheist literature out there now is making being atheist a bit more socially acceptable - I don't feel *so* much like I have to hide it now, although I tend not to say anything about it unless someone specifically asks me about my beliefs. Have you read 'God is Not Great' by Christopher Hitchens - he's a witty guy and I enjoyed his book.

As for Animal Liberation - that was a book that changed my life! I read it when I was at uni and thought that if I agreed with his argument at the end of the book I would become a vegetarian. I ended up agreeing with him and became a vegetarian immediately. He's a great thinker, I believe. Lots of his books are worth reading.

If you're interested in looking into the animal side of things, there is a great book called 'Rattling the Cage' by Steven Wise who teaches animal rights law at Harvard. Singer is a utilitarian, but Wise argues the case for abolishing animals' legal status as property, and for attributing them certain inalienable rights.