The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins

Merits: Richard Dawkins is a Fellow of both the Royal Society and the Royal Society of Literature. He is a British evolutionary biologist and author of numerous bestselling books. He retired from his position as the inaugural holder of the Charles Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University in 2008 and remains a Fellow of New College. He is also the recipient of numerous honours and awards, including the Royal Society of Literature Award (1987), the Shakespeare Prize (2005), the Lewis Thomas Prize for Writing about Science (2006), and the Nierenberg Prize for Science and the Public Interest (2009), etc.

Material: This book offers a rebuttal of religious belief and attempts to demonstrate the improbability of the existence of God. With wit, tenacity, and wry humor, Dawkins dismantles classic Sunday school arguments and other popularly held positions. Regardless of whether you’re a theist or atheist, this book is brilliantly argued and provocative.

Grade: Antichrist. This book comes out swinging and throws some haymakers. For the faithful, it’s an excellent test of the robustness of ones faith. For the A crowd, it’s like watching a Stone Cold Stunner administered to a Sunday school teacher.