Rating: 
Summary: Good Job But To Limited Audience
Review: The author has presented the case of Atheism quite well. The main gist of his work is to establish where the burden of proof lies and I think he has done it perfectly. Apart from that, I don't think that the author has spent much time on the theist assertions. The articles on first cause and design arguments are not very elaborative and lack in their depth. Another thing, which I would like to mention, is that the audience of this book is quite limited. It mainly addresses Christians. Since I belong to another religion, most of the stuff in it was irrelevant to me. I do not agree with the author on many issues but that does not mean that I should diminish the value of the work he has done in this book. It's a well-done book and a good challenge to any theist.
Rating: 
Summary: new atheist
Review: I am a new convert to atheism, and I bought this book to help explain to me what that meant. I found the first two and the last two chapters extremely interesting and helpful, but everything in between was pretty dull. The middle section delt with the conflict between reason and fath, but the end was an attack on christianity, which I enjoyed thoroughly. I consider the beginning and end of the book alone to be worth the price.
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Summary: Demolishes virtually all arguments for the existence of god
Review: Next to the bible, no book presents as good an argument against god-belief than does "Atheism: The Case Against God." I first read this book in the late 1980s after I had a terrible experience as a born-again Christian. I knew for sure that much fraud, hypocrisy, and fanaticism existed in the Christian religion. I also had a gut feeling that many of its claims were highly suspect. Nevertheless, I felt compelled to remain a Christian because of its polemics. "Atheism" changed all that for me. Smith's arguments are clear and convincing. For example, on page 223 he says: "Since the Christian God is a mass of unintelligible characteristics, it is impossible--in principle--rationally to demonstrate its existence." Bravo! Smith is quite correct here, and it is easy to prove that he is: ask any believer--Christian or otherwise--to explain exactly what it is that he or she wants you to believe in. Ask them to be explicit and to give a definition of "God" that is understandable. I guarantee you that no Christian or Muslim or Jew will be able to supply this type of answer. If you disagree with me than try this tactic. You will win the debate every time. But, hey, the real point is not to win debates: the real goal of rational thinking is to accept truth and reject falsehoods especially pernicious falsehoods like religious belief. "Atheism: The Case Against God" is a good place to start for anyone wishing to break the shackles of theistic belief.
Rating:
Summary: Worthy of any personal library
Review: This book was my first introduction to atheism when I first read it in the late 80s. At that time I knew that I had no belief in a god or the supernatural, but I really didn't know why, just a deep feeling inside that non-belief felt right. This book for me answered a lot of questions I had about atheism and I came out of it with a greater understanding of atheism itself and further solidification of what I was already feeling. As an introduction, this book is great, Smith goes into great detail about reason and faith, throws in some standard arguments and his refutations about the existence of god, and really does a great job in my opinion of pinning down useful definitions for atheism, theism, and agnosticism. As far as stepping stones are concerned, this book did it for me. In fact, both the non-believer and the believer can learn much from what Smith has to say. Looking back after all these years, I suppose my only quibble with Smith and his book is that he spent his time 'theistically' dealing with Christianity only. I would have liked if he had dealt with some of the world's other major religions as well. But then again, perhaps I would not have spent so much time researching and learning about the variety of earth's belief systems had he covered them all. Regardless, Smith deserves my eternal thanks for helping pave the way, not only for myself, but also for others like myself. This book will remain on my bookshelf for a long time to come.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent introduction to nontheism
Review: I once took a tour of Prometheus Books in Buffalo, NY in which I was told that George Smith's ATHEISM: THE CASE AGAINST GOD is one of their most popular selections. Having read the book, it's easy to see why. Smith's book is an excellent introduction to nontheism. My only criticism of the book is that it is somewhat outdated. Since Smith originally wrote the book, theists have developed sophisticated new versions of the old arguments for the existence of God (e.g., the kalam cosmological argument, the fine-tuning argument, etc.). While some of what Smith writes is applicable to these 'new' arguments, the book was not written with these arguments in mind and therefore does not directly clash with them. I think it would be great if Smith were to revise his book to reflect these recent developments; it would not take much work at all to once again make ATHEISM: THE CASE AGAINST GOD a state-of-the-art critique of reasons for believing that God exists.
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Summary: Every religious person should read this book!
Review: This is a good book which argues the idea of faith and god very thoroughly and logically. I believe in God and when I read this book, I tried on my own to counter each of his arguments against God, but found that I couldn't. He thorougly demolished any argument you could have to believe in God. I still believe in God, but as Smith might say, I do so irrationally. Everyone, even religious people, should read this book with an open mind and see how their beliefs hold up!
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Summary: This book is my thoughts put into words.
Review: When I went to the bookstore searching for a book on atheism, I actually thought I wouldn't find anything. Much to my surprise I found George H. Smith's book, Atheism: The Case Against God. Sitting on the floor in the aisle, I began to read the introduction. It was as if someone had taken the thoughts in my mind and made a book of them. Having been raised by a "born again" Christian mother, doubting the existence of God was never very popular in my house. And yet, I still had many unanswered questions. Also, being surrounded by Christians I assumed I was the only person who thought God didn't exist. It turns out I was wrong. This is an incredible book. It points out the many arguments to the existence of a god, and better yet, the problems of Christianity. It is written in a manner that is (for the most part) easy to understand, and yet, still has many philosophical and theological terms and ideas. And, much to my delight, it even had touches of humor (such as the sections about the unie, etc.) I strongly feel that in this society, where atheism is a minority opinion, any atheist should have this book. (Especially if they are going to have to be defending their belief, or lack of belief rather, to Christians.) I feel even stronger, though, that any person who is considering Christianity, or even a person who already is one, should read this book. It offers "the other side of the story" that one should definitely hear before they make their decision.
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Summary: Best book defining and explaining atheism.
Review: Okay, screw Ayn Rand. Smith's book is one that needs to be read by everyone that claims to be an atheist, and, hey, by plenty of theists as well. This book has it all: It identifies the myths surrounding atheism, and dismisses them. It draws the distinction between atheism and agnosticism. More importantly, it takes a philisophical viewpoint on atheism, not a scientific one. It explains why many atheists believe what they believe (or, rather, as the case is, don't believe). It's important. The one main flaw I find in this book is that the writing can sometimes be dry and may lose reader's interest if they are easily distracted. However, this book is a valuable tool in understanding atheism.
Rating:
Summary: A clear case
Review: This must be one of the best books I've read on the subject. The arguments are clear and follow a logical train of thought. A must for all atheists and strongly recomemded for all theists that would like a strong test of their faith.
Rating: 
Summary: review of aetheism the case against god
Review: I have read this book about 1/2 way through. The main problem I have with his arguments is that he equates the belief in God/god/gods with the existence of God/god/gods, which in my opinion is a major flaw in logic. I exist despite the fact that Mr. Smith does not know/believe that I do. He also equates the cause of bad actions done under the auspices of religion to religion being bad and then uses this to deny the existence of God/god/gods, rather than putting the fault on those that commit the bad actions due to their own hunger for power and control. As I have been reading his book, at times I cannot help but wonder if Mr. Smith has a dictionary or even knows how to use one. The definition he gives for "supernatural" I found in my Webster's under "unnatural". Neither did my Webster's in any way equate these two definitions. This was also evident when he went into great detail with "for" and "of" and resorted to what can only be called "hair splitting". He included at least one defunct logic theory, admitted it was defunct, and proudly used it anyway. Now why would you intentionally use defunct logic to support your views? Another problem I have with his book is his numerous quotes from a confirmed deist (a theist that believes God/god/gods do not interact or influence the universe.) Now why would you repeatedly quote someone who believes in the existence of God/god/gods as a basis to bolster your view of atheism, which says that theists are deluded, irrational and illogical? This would be the equivalent to using a convicted felon as a character witness in a court of law. Mr. Smith also tends to contradict himself. At one point he says that "...aethism can be (and has been) incorporated within many different and incompatible philosophical systems..." and then on the very next page states "...the only thing incompatible with aethism is theism..." When I saw these two statements, I went back and reread the entire section leading up to them to make sure that I had not misread or missed something. Mr. Smith ignores 1,000's and 1,000's of years of Jewish and Christian influence, tradition, thought, and logic. He ignores the massive archaeological findings that support the Bible which Jews and Christians use. He ignores the good that has come from Judaism and Christianity. He ignores the witness of 1,000,000's of Jews and Christians that conduct their everyday lives with piety and love. He ignores the statistics the religious believers and their familiies have less occurrences of divorce, domestic violence, drug and alcohol addiction, depression, gang involvement, sexual diseases, unwanted pregancies, and etc. Mr. Smith has also missed the fact that historically, aethism in ancient civilizations is unheard of. Aethism can logically be classified as a modern aberration. Mr. Smith's book is typical "free thought" rhetoric where he wants people to be free to believe and do anything they desire except believe and practice religion. This book is hailed by atheists and other free thinkers (formerly called skeptics and cynics) as the "Bible" of atheism. If this is the best that the aethists can devise, then religion, and especially Christianity are safe and secure. I will be submitting another review after I complete the book.
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