A hot surprise book of the spring has been Christopher Hitchens's God
Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything (Twelve), which after
several printings has 296,000 copies in print and is leading publishers
to have more faith in books that, as Hitchens's does, launch "a blazing
attack on God and religion," the Wall Street Journal reported today.
Already Da Capo has signed up Hitchens to edit The Portable Atheist, which will include essays by Mark Twain and Charles Dickens, among others. As David Steinberger, CEO and leader of the Perseus flock, said to the paper, "This is atheism's moment."
Other titles in the same league as God Is Not Great that have done well in the past year include Letter to a Christian Nation by Sam Harris and The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins. Sales of Hitchens's book have been aided by his appearances, often in combative debates, on behalf of the book. As Barbara Meade, co-owner of Politics and Prose, Washington, D.C., said, "Part of the appeal is that he's a personality; we sold 106 books when he visited our store."
Another part of the audience: believers who want to understand non-believers. "There is a very strong presence of the religious right, and they want to know what's being said and figure out how to move against it," Vivien Jennings, owner of Rainy Day Books, Fairway, Kan., said.
Already Da Capo has signed up Hitchens to edit The Portable Atheist, which will include essays by Mark Twain and Charles Dickens, among others. As David Steinberger, CEO and leader of the Perseus flock, said to the paper, "This is atheism's moment."
Other titles in the same league as God Is Not Great that have done well in the past year include Letter to a Christian Nation by Sam Harris and The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins. Sales of Hitchens's book have been aided by his appearances, often in combative debates, on behalf of the book. As Barbara Meade, co-owner of Politics and Prose, Washington, D.C., said, "Part of the appeal is that he's a personality; we sold 106 books when he visited our store."
Another part of the audience: believers who want to understand non-believers. "There is a very strong presence of the religious right, and they want to know what's being said and figure out how to move against it," Vivien Jennings, owner of Rainy Day Books, Fairway, Kan., said.