Welcome to your heretical heritage. In 1903, the Blue Grass Blade, a Kentucky/Ohio-based freethought newspaper, requested letters from its readers describing how and why they had become atheists. Hundreds responded, representing 60% of the country, and the phrases and voices in these letters echo the thoughts and sentiments of OUR century's supposedly "new" atheists and perhaps your very own.
Letters from an Atheist Nation
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"I very rarely read nonfiction, so it takes a very good nonfiction book to hold my attention. I can't praise this book enough." - Pajiba.com's "Cannonball Read IV"
"Its real value is...in reminding us that freethinking isn't a recent invention but a longstanding and proud part of the American story. In that respect, it's another part of our answer to history-blind apologists who are nostalgic for a past golden age of universal Christianity that never actually existed." - Daylight Atheism
"Its real value is...in reminding us that freethinking isn't a recent invention but a longstanding and proud part of the American story. In that respect, it's another part of our answer to history-blind apologists who are nostalgic for a past golden age of universal Christianity that never actually existed." - Daylight Atheism
From the Inside Flap
"By his own closest colleagues' admission, the preacher-turned-infidel Charles Chilton Moore could be, and often was, one rough old Kentucky cob. Certainly he was to newsprint what his friend Watson Heston was to art. Even so, with his Blue Grass Blade newspaper, Moore provided an important, even vital, tool of free speech and the exchange of ideas for a free-thinking and independent minority largely disenfranchised by nineteenth-century American society. Thomas Lawson's Letters from an Atheist Nation aptly demonstrates Moore's significance as a pioneer American atheist leader, and the testimonials of his subscribers contained herein are no less vital, or cogent, than they were when they were first printed more than a century ago."
JOHN SPARKS, author of Kentucky's Most Hated Man: Charles Chilton Moore & The Bluegrass Blade
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More About the Author
Thomas J. Lawson was born in Long Beach, California, in 1975. He met his Canadian wife while "vacationing" in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and moved to Canada in 1999. Lawson is a part-time writer and full-time dad to their two young children in British Columbia, Canada. He retains and reveres his U.S. citizenship.
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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful
By S. Evans
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
Admittedly, I haven't finished reading this yet; I just /had/ to stop halfway through to say how fascinating I'm finding the stories. Some of them echo my own experiences and beliefs very closely, while others add new facets I've never even considered. Some of the language and references are, understandably, rather dated, but the stories told within are still entirely relevant today. I recommend this not only for atheists and other non-theists, but also those theists who want to better understand the motivations of their non-believing family and friends.
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
With the growth in people coming out as atheist / non-believers these days and the higher profile that our section of society is garnering, we sometimes forget that there are many who have walked this road before us. This book is a reminder that we are not the first. Whilst it is always great to hear from Dawkins, Hitchens and going back further Russell and Ingersoll, to me these are the real voices. The voices that could be our grandfathers, uncles and ourselves. And for me that alone would be enough of a reason to buy this book. The hard work that has gone into what is clearly a labor of love is a bonus. I would also suggest that if you are a theist you don't just dismiss this book without taking the time to read it. We really aren't that different in many ways. This may help you see that.
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
By John Sparks
Format:Kindle Edition
A few weeks ago, when the Kindle edition of this book first came out, I wrote: "I guess I'll have to get a Kindle, or else borrow my daughter's, to keep reading this book--but the introductory portion featured on the book's Amazon page certainly leaves a reader hungry for more. How about a print version, though? It'd seem to me to be a worthwhile project."
The book's traditional print version is now available, and I reiterate my thanks to Thomas Lawson for resurrecting, as it were, an obscure but important facet of Kentucky history as well as that of American freethought. The only difference I see between these colorful and variegated testimonies of nonbelief, and similar missives available in blog postings on the Internet today, is that the 1903 letter writers were, by and large, quite a bit more articulate and mannerly than their Internet journalistic heirs. Even so, some of the writers do have an annoying tendency--as do their contemporaries--to employ "shock language" to stir up, as it were, the fretful complacency of their fundamentalist Christian counterparts. But the issues are still the same--and are still waiting to be addressed by the American public at large.
The book's traditional print version is now available, and I reiterate my thanks to Thomas Lawson for resurrecting, as it were, an obscure but important facet of Kentucky history as well as that of American freethought. The only difference I see between these colorful and variegated testimonies of nonbelief, and similar missives available in blog postings on the Internet today, is that the 1903 letter writers were, by and large, quite a bit more articulate and mannerly than their Internet journalistic heirs. Even so, some of the writers do have an annoying tendency--as do their contemporaries--to employ "shock language" to stir up, as it were, the fretful complacency of their fundamentalist Christian counterparts. But the issues are still the same--and are still waiting to be addressed by the American public at large.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
These people are our people!
I don't know why I was so shocked by the sheer number of letters in this book. As is pointed out in the preface, between these essays and our modern-day "new" atheism lies the... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Judy
5.0 out of 5 stars
America with a brain
i liked this piece of work so much, I bought both the book, and the kindle versions. I could go on and on about this book, however, the best thing I could say is it should be put... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Redjohn
4.0 out of 5 stars
Our interesting past
It is nice to see so many freethinking individuals from our past. Too bad a couple of world wars came along and revived the religious fervor of the church which has roots deeply... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Rodney Hinds
5.0 out of 5 stars
Letters from 1903? These writings are timeless!
What an unexpected delight this book has been for me! In the past ten years I've been reading everything from Dan Barker to Richard Dawkins to Sam Harris to Christopher Hitchens... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Cactus Ed
