Every way that atheism is made to seem more reasonable and more acceptable is a step in the right direction
Was the author correct on story?
Fantastic book.  Rather than review the contents as hundreds of others have, I'll explain why this book is important to me.  I live in the heart of our country, where being an atheist is suspect and despised.  The Christians here are so ethnocentric, they just assume that everyone is like them, everyone believes like them, and everyone feels the same way they do.  And I'm not just talking about the uneducated masses.  After I first realized that I was an atheist, and was ready to give up all the superstitions, I told two of my friends at a yearly retreat.  Both have their doctorates.  The next morning, for the first time, one of them initiated prayer over breakfast.  In a business setting, working with the public, advertising that I'm an atheist would be economic madness.  Every way that atheism is made to seem more reasonable and more acceptable is a step in the right direction, and makes it easier for me and those like me to `come out of the closet' with everyone, instead of just close friends and family. A friend of mine who is interested in politics is resigned to staying behind the scenes, because being an atheist is an unelectable characteristic.  It has just been a few years since Bush, Sr. said,  "I don't know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots."Dawkins has done a public service writing this book.  It is thorough, well-done, thought- provoking, and interesting. 