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kitsuneheart's review against another edition
5.0
Oh. Hell. (Which doesn't exist!) Yes.
I picked up this audiobook in conjunction with Penn's second book on atheism, "Every Day is an Atheist Holiday," the second of which I have not yet listened to. However, I most definitely will be listening to it ASAP, since this book just made my day amazing.
And it was a day. I listened to the entire audiobook in one go, it was impossible to stop. After growing up in a nominally Christian family, which has become WAY MORE Christian in the last few years, even as I developed into atheism, it was really nice to finally hear some thoughts on a life without gods. Unapologetically atheist Penn rails not only against hard-and-fast religion (and not just Christianity, having a lovely section on helping a Jewish fan lose his bacon virginity), but also wishy-washy agnosticism. Interspersed are stories from his life which have nothing DIRECTLY to do with atheism, but which show the reader how a life without some omnipotent being can still be fulfilling and, in fact, is far more precious.
Penn's reading is perfection. You can tell he STILL enjoys the stories he tells in this book, and he will have you laughing in public at several points. Such as his foray into a bath house. Ah, rejection. Such a hard thing.
A great gift to send in return for those lovely crosses and Bibles and kitschy quotes that sometimes come your way. :p
I picked up this audiobook in conjunction with Penn's second book on atheism, "Every Day is an Atheist Holiday," the second of which I have not yet listened to. However, I most definitely will be listening to it ASAP, since this book just made my day amazing.
And it was a day. I listened to the entire audiobook in one go, it was impossible to stop. After growing up in a nominally Christian family, which has become WAY MORE Christian in the last few years, even as I developed into atheism, it was really nice to finally hear some thoughts on a life without gods. Unapologetically atheist Penn rails not only against hard-and-fast religion (and not just Christianity, having a lovely section on helping a Jewish fan lose his bacon virginity), but also wishy-washy agnosticism. Interspersed are stories from his life which have nothing DIRECTLY to do with atheism, but which show the reader how a life without some omnipotent being can still be fulfilling and, in fact, is far more precious.
Penn's reading is perfection. You can tell he STILL enjoys the stories he tells in this book, and he will have you laughing in public at several points. Such as his foray into a bath house. Ah, rejection. Such a hard thing.
A great gift to send in return for those lovely crosses and Bibles and kitschy quotes that sometimes come your way. :p
rodhilton's review against another edition
3.0
The biggest problem with the book is that it's titled and marketed misleadingly, so let me get this out of the way really quickly: this is not a book about atheism or atheists or skepticism in general. This does not belong on the shelf next to Dennett, Hitchens, Harris, and Dawkins. This is simply Penn Jillette's autobiography, nothing more, nothing less.
Once you get past the poor marketing and take the book for what it is, it's quite good. Pinn Jillette is an interesting guy who has lived an incredibly interesting life. He also reads his own audiobook, adding a particular flourish to the text, if you're interested in that sort of thing.
Jillette is a strong atheist, and he certainly talks a lot about atheism, nonbelief, skepticism, and so forth. It's important enough to his life that it's mentioned in every single chapter many times, but I still consider this book first and foremost an autobiography.
Jillette talks a lot about his various worldviews. His view on the agnosticism/atheism debate is fantastically well-argued, and I believe convinced me to adopt his stance (agnosticism is bullshit), while his view on Libertarianism is much more of a stretch and very unconvincing (I say this as a Libertarian myself). He talks about his views on global warming, plastic surgery, the entertainment industry, and politics, none of which will come as a surprise to those who have read interviews with him or watched "Bullshit".
He also shares life stories, some of which are extremely personal. He shares stories about fans, including one fan he eventually married. He talks about the deaths of his family members including his much older sister. He discusses the effects his friends and family have had on his life, and even shares a personal story about paying for his father's in-home nursing care that made me shed manly tears of manliness. Some of the stories are there only to be funny, such as the chapter about Kreskin, but even the touching and serious stories have humor throughout.
These stories and worldview chapters would make for an excellent book, but often the book starts meandering pointlessly. Some sections feel like filler to make the book longer, and go on and on for what seems like an eternity. A story he wrote for Penthouse about having sex in scuba gear seems particularly self-indulgent, Jillette clearly aroused by his own storytelling. Another chapter about why his family doesn't do the whole Santa thing is tiresome and bland, with little more than a blog post's worth of something to say. The greatest offender was a short (but still far too long) chapter on Bruce Springsteen which is just pure rambling.
The book is inconsistent in quality overall, and the greatness of the highlights is often mired by the worthlessness of the lowlights. Overall the book is worth a read (as long as the reader knows that the book is just an autobiography written by an atheist, not an atheist book), but feel free to skip chapters that aren't doing anything for you. Very little of the book is built on what preceded it, and entire chapters could easily be dropped or reordered without much effect.
Once you get past the poor marketing and take the book for what it is, it's quite good. Pinn Jillette is an interesting guy who has lived an incredibly interesting life. He also reads his own audiobook, adding a particular flourish to the text, if you're interested in that sort of thing.
Jillette is a strong atheist, and he certainly talks a lot about atheism, nonbelief, skepticism, and so forth. It's important enough to his life that it's mentioned in every single chapter many times, but I still consider this book first and foremost an autobiography.
Jillette talks a lot about his various worldviews. His view on the agnosticism/atheism debate is fantastically well-argued, and I believe convinced me to adopt his stance (agnosticism is bullshit), while his view on Libertarianism is much more of a stretch and very unconvincing (I say this as a Libertarian myself). He talks about his views on global warming, plastic surgery, the entertainment industry, and politics, none of which will come as a surprise to those who have read interviews with him or watched "Bullshit".
He also shares life stories, some of which are extremely personal. He shares stories about fans, including one fan he eventually married. He talks about the deaths of his family members including his much older sister. He discusses the effects his friends and family have had on his life, and even shares a personal story about paying for his father's in-home nursing care that made me shed manly tears of manliness. Some of the stories are there only to be funny, such as the chapter about Kreskin, but even the touching and serious stories have humor throughout.
These stories and worldview chapters would make for an excellent book, but often the book starts meandering pointlessly. Some sections feel like filler to make the book longer, and go on and on for what seems like an eternity. A story he wrote for Penthouse about having sex in scuba gear seems particularly self-indulgent, Jillette clearly aroused by his own storytelling. Another chapter about why his family doesn't do the whole Santa thing is tiresome and bland, with little more than a blog post's worth of something to say. The greatest offender was a short (but still far too long) chapter on Bruce Springsteen which is just pure rambling.
The book is inconsistent in quality overall, and the greatness of the highlights is often mired by the worthlessness of the lowlights. Overall the book is worth a read (as long as the reader knows that the book is just an autobiography written by an atheist, not an atheist book), but feel free to skip chapters that aren't doing anything for you. Very little of the book is built on what preceded it, and entire chapters could easily be dropped or reordered without much effect.
ayaktruk's review against another edition
A half.com find for a few bucks. I saw Penn and Teller at a very small venue in Hollywood dozens and dozens of years ago and was astounded by their intimate magic back then,
hmbb99's review against another edition
3.0
It took me a long time to finish this book, not because it was a horrible book but because I don't read biographies or non-fiction quite as often. There is a lot of funny stuff in this book and I agree with 98% of his views on religion and faith. Atheists can have their own set of 'commandments' on morality, respect, and righteousness without ever having to bring god or religion into the mix.
mxsallybend's review against another edition
3.0
Despite its title, God No is less a book about atheism, and more a book about Penn Jillette. Overall, it’s a rambling, amusing, self-indulgent collection of celebrity encounters, only a few of which ever come around to the subject of atheism. Despite that, there are some seeds of insight to be found throughout, eventually growing together into a wild, untameable vine of free thought.
At times rude and crude, it’s in his most outrageous, most blasphemous moments, that the most important points are made. Like any great magician, Penn is a master of the bait-and-switch. To put it another way, like any good parent, he’s a master of making the nastiest medicine palatable by hiding it in something sweet. Time and time again he shocks you with one blasphemous concept, and then slips in a bit of wisdom that you might have otherwise dismissed out-of-hand . . . but no longer find so hard to swallow.
The problem, from a conceptual point of view, is that those sugar-coated messages are few and far between. The framing of the atheist Ten Commandments is artificial and loose, and I honestly can’t recall any specifics. There are no catchy phrases or memorable revisions here, just chapters of stories with a common theme. What could have been a clever concept, and could have really helped make a really strong point, is instead sacrificed for entertaining the converted. That’s not entirely a bad thing – alone, or with Teller at his side, Penn is always entertaining – but I would have liked something more structured.
Is there an elephant in your bathtub right now? If you humbly answer "I don't know," then when asked if you believe there's an elephant in your bathtub right now, the answer would be no. Anything is possible, but there's no reason to believe it until there's some evidence. Once you're an atheist, anything is possible. You are leaving open the possibility of Jesus Christ as lord, and Thor, and invisible gremlins living in your toaster. It's all possible, but . . . I don't know. And until I know—until there's some evidence—I'm an atheist.
In the end, once the stories fade, do any of the bits of wisdom that are there stick with you? As somebody who already agrees with much of what he has to say, and is regularly amused by his act, I don’t know . . . but, ironically (as Penn himself makes clear), that’s largely the point.
At times rude and crude, it’s in his most outrageous, most blasphemous moments, that the most important points are made. Like any great magician, Penn is a master of the bait-and-switch. To put it another way, like any good parent, he’s a master of making the nastiest medicine palatable by hiding it in something sweet. Time and time again he shocks you with one blasphemous concept, and then slips in a bit of wisdom that you might have otherwise dismissed out-of-hand . . . but no longer find so hard to swallow.
The problem, from a conceptual point of view, is that those sugar-coated messages are few and far between. The framing of the atheist Ten Commandments is artificial and loose, and I honestly can’t recall any specifics. There are no catchy phrases or memorable revisions here, just chapters of stories with a common theme. What could have been a clever concept, and could have really helped make a really strong point, is instead sacrificed for entertaining the converted. That’s not entirely a bad thing – alone, or with Teller at his side, Penn is always entertaining – but I would have liked something more structured.
Is there an elephant in your bathtub right now? If you humbly answer "I don't know," then when asked if you believe there's an elephant in your bathtub right now, the answer would be no. Anything is possible, but there's no reason to believe it until there's some evidence. Once you're an atheist, anything is possible. You are leaving open the possibility of Jesus Christ as lord, and Thor, and invisible gremlins living in your toaster. It's all possible, but . . . I don't know. And until I know—until there's some evidence—I'm an atheist.
In the end, once the stories fade, do any of the bits of wisdom that are there stick with you? As somebody who already agrees with much of what he has to say, and is regularly amused by his act, I don’t know . . . but, ironically (as Penn himself makes clear), that’s largely the point.
smitchy's review against another edition
3.0
This book wasn't what I was expecting from the title - It was more like a biography with bits about atheism. Definitely worth reading if you are a Penn & Teller fan (which I am) or want to get another atheist perspective (Dawkins can be very abrasive). I just wasn't expecting it to be as autobiographical as it is. I sometimes felt the swearing gets in the way of the story.
rjstreet's review against another edition
4.0
An entertaining combination of autobiography and personal credo. While Dawkins and Hitchens come at atheism from the theoretical perspective, Penn attacks the personal perspective with frankness, personal humility and his trademark brashness.
shack70's review against another edition
3.0
Penn Jillette is a nut, really he says it several times throughout this book. Penn is outspoken and has non-traditional views. God no is a nice glimpse into those views all presented through stories of Penn's life. Penn is also not trying to convert anyone to atheism but instead points out many entertaining facts about faith, science, and god as well as a fun look into show business.
I found this book funny and entertaining but have to warn people that there is a lot of foul language and sexual content throughout the book.
I found this book funny and entertaining but have to warn people that there is a lot of foul language and sexual content throughout the book.
librarylapin's review against another edition
2.0
I have always enjoyed Penn Jillette's work and he seems like a pretty funny guy and I thought it would be interesting to read his take on Atheism. He starts by making the very valid point that most people accuse Atheists of thinking they are smarter than everyone and being arrogant when the truth is that it takes humility to say you don't know and to live outside of the major realms of religion. True. Then he proceeds to write as an all knowing arrogant sage who insults anyone who believes differently than himself. I know it is his shtick to say things that are overtly offensive. It makes it hard for me to take him seriously. Although I think he is talented and intelligent, his logic is often circular and his disdain to all who don't believe exactly what he does makes it difficult for me to respect him and enjoy this book.
evirae's review against another edition
I am a big fan of Penn & Teller on stage and on HBO. Whereas I thought the title of this book would be telling about its contents, I was sorely mistaken.
Vulgar without adding anything and as appealing as being presented with an unwashed phallus, the story has little to do with atheism or spirituality and seems to be Penn simply vomiting prose until the word count justified publication for profit while knowing that the majority of readers wouldn't be able to stomach it past chapter one.
Vulgar without adding anything and as appealing as being presented with an unwashed phallus, the story has little to do with atheism or spirituality and seems to be Penn simply vomiting prose until the word count justified publication for profit while knowing that the majority of readers wouldn't be able to stomach it past chapter one.