Atheism for Dummies Available for Pre-order

January 15, 2013 By 33 Comments

It sounds weird to say this about a Dummies book, but I am *so* excited to read Dale McGowan‘s contribution to the series, Atheism for Dummies:

Even though it doesn’t come out until March, it just became available for pre-order on Amazon. Based on what I’ve heard from Dale (and what we all know these books are like), this is bound to be a fantastic, easy-to-read primer on atheism for people of any age without any of the “New Atheist” attitude/snark that sometimes turns off many theists and moderates.

I’ll write more about the book closer to the publication date, but for now, get your copy reserved!

Filed Under: Books, General 33 Comments
About Hemant Mehta

Hemant Mehta is the chair of Foundation Beyond Belief and a high school math teacher in the suburbs of Chicago. He began writing the Friendly Atheist blog in 2006. His latest book is called The Young Atheist's Survival Guide.

  • LesterBallard

    Cue moronic comments from theists who think they’re oh so clever . . .

    • Tom_Nightingale

      A person writing that, reading a blog called “Friendly Atheist”…

      • LesterBallard

        I am not a friendly atheist.

        • Olive Oil

          Neither is the blog owner.

          • http://yetanotheratheist.com/ TerranRich

            I love the constant tone-trolling. “Ooohh, you’re not being friiiieeendlyyyy!” It’s a distraction. Yes, it says “Friendly” in the blog title; that doesn’t mean Hemant (or his various co-writers) have to be saccharin push-overs.

            • Tom_Nightingale

              A distraction from what? The point of Hemant’s post? Oh wait, thats what LesterBallard’s comment did. Sorry, but people should be called out for needless insults at theists, even if it is an atheist blog. You probably aren’t used to it, and it’s a shame you wrote that. You look like a jackass

        • Tom_Nightingale

          That’s too bad.

    • observer

      See?! only mindless fools disbelieve in god!!

  • Tom_Nightingale

    Well that takes care of the Dummies, but is he gonna write an “Idiot’s Guide” too? Lots of them too ;)

  • http://twitter.com/SouthHumanist SouthernHumanist

    A big part of me would love to crack open this book, only to see 200 or so blank pages…

  • Rain

    Theism = atheism for dummies because theists are already atheists except for one arbitrary god. Theism is sort of an “off-by-one” atheism.

    • Rain

      So, if you want to be an atheist the easy way, then just be a theist and then subtract one god. Badda-bing badda-boom, you’re an atheist in one easy step.

    • http://www.last.fm/user/m6wg4bxw m6wg4bxw

      It seems like such a simple way to explain atheism to theists, but it doesn’t always apply. Some theists believe the gods of other religions also exist, though they’re considered to be false or demonic, much like the perception of Satan.

    • loljoe

      That would be monotheism is “off-by-one.”

      Theism simply posits that at least one god exists.

  • http://twitter.com/TominousTone Thomas Lawson

    3-2-1…cue the offended person that thinks the ‘Dummies’ part is a personal attack at religious people.

    • Pseudonym

      None evident so far.

      • ha2

        I think the “X for Dummies” form of titles is so widespread that people know that it doesn’t imply that the person is a dummy if they want to read it.

        • Pseudonym

          Precisely.

  • JohnnieCanuck

    So it’s not going to mention any of the things that atheists dislike or criticise about religion, so as not to offend theists and accommodationists? Kind of weak sauce if there’s nothing in it that a theist could be turned off by.

    After all, the cover already has the ‘A’ word prominently displayed.

    • Pseudonym

      For what it’s worth, “Mac OS X for Dummies” probably doesn’t spend any time detailing what Mac users hate about Windows, either.

      There’s plenty of space in the market for atheist books which contribute something positive and possibly even inspiring. If you want a book of mostly negative opinions, you know where to find it.

  • http://www.last.fm/user/m6wg4bxw m6wg4bxw

    While I appreciate the titular candor, I think it would have been better to refer to them as “theists.”

    • Sindigo

      Nailed it.

  • Piet Puk

    Looking forward to this. Like all “Dummies” books, this one seems to target people that are interested in the subject and want to read a clear, positive book about it.

    I like it.

  • http://www.flickr.com/groups/invisiblepinkunicorn Anna

    Looks great! I love when books are mentioned on FA, so it’s great to see the recent posts about Atheism for Dummies and The World Until Yesterday.

  • Olive Oil

    Atheism For Dummies. …snicker…

  • Santiago

    That is good news. I’ll get it from my library when it comes out.

    The real question is if it will dicuss our latest folk devils ;)

  • Alan Williamson

    Well they do have a book “Religion for Dummies”.

  • Liam

    My brother-in-law got my pregnant wife and I “Parenting for Dummies” for Christmas as a gag gift. It claimed homeopathy was a for-realsies science. It actually specifically asserted it wasn’t pseudo-scientific nonsense (not in so many words, the actual quote involved witch-doctor tropes). I’ve no faith in the series if the editors left that in.

    • Liam

      Ah, here’s the quote courtesy Google Books: “Homeopathic medicine is not a group of whackos who sit around lighting candles, humming chants, and sticking pins into little dolls. It’s an honest-to-goodness science that works.”

  • Minus

    Regarding ” “New Atheist” attitude/snark:” Just once I’d like to hear an example of what exactly is being referred to. Like what snark please.

  • panamafloyd

    Perhaps I’m an outlier, but in my experience most theists don’t *want* to know what atheism really is. I sometimes think “Strawman Arguments for Dummies” is more their style.

  • RBH

    For those not in the Amazon borg, Barnes & Noble also has it available for pre-order.

  • ConureDelSol

    I should buy this…for my mom…when I come out. She probably won’t read it, but at least I will have tried.