Customer Reviews

Like Rolling Uphill: Realizing the Honesty of Atheism

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Dianna Narciso has made a unique and important contribution to freethought literature with this outstanding new volume. This book differs from many books on atheism in several critical ways. First of all, Dianna's book is very enjoyable to read. Many other books on atheism take an inherently fascinating subject and somehow manage to bore the reader to tears. This book is absorbing from cover to cover. Secondly, this book is different in that it's written from a personal perspective, revealing Dianna's own life story. Thirdly, this book doesn't have a hard edge to it like many books on atheism. The book uses diplomacy and finesse to make its salient points, rather than kill-or-be-killed logical combat. I could relax while reading it.

Physically, the book is very attractively printed on cream-colored paper and has an elegantly glossy front and back cover. The internal font is easy to read and, unlike most books these days, is uniformly rich from page to page.

I liked this book very much and would highly recommend it to everyone -- atheist, agnostic, and Christian alike.

David Mills
Author of "Atheist Universe"

Dianna Narciso describes the journey that is the subject of "Like Rolling Uphill: Realizing the Honesty of Atheism" this way: "...I found myself on a journey of learning and understanding that, while some spots were difficult and upsetting, was very much like rolling uphill toward self-enlightenment. I couldn't stop the progress, I couldn't stop the momentum, and I certainly couldn't go back to where I'd been."

Between the covers of this book is the story of a life in process. Narciso candidly tells the reader who she was, who she is and what caused her to change. She does so in a straightforward narrative that pulls no punches, whether assessing her own ideas and attitudes or commenting on some of the misunderstandings and misinformation she has encountered while realizing her own atheism.

Journeys of self-discovery are always unique and never quite over. Those who are traveling a road away from religious orthodoxy will find a kindred spirit revealed in the 170 pages of this book. In a tale that is fast-paced-at times, almost breathless-and authentic, Narciso explains how she found happiness and fulfillment by challenging her own beliefs and searching for honest answers to honest questions.

There are bookshelves filled with testimonials from the religious of all denominations proclaiming the benefits of their religions.

Here's one from a nonbeliever who points out the intellectual and emotional joys of a godless existence.

This is one of the few practical books on atheism. If you are looking for a book that skips past the heavy philosophical stuff, this is it. For those of you who feel like you are rolling uphill or swimming against the tide when it comes to your world views, this book will give you some inner strength. As you read this you will realize that you aren't the only one who has had a rough time of it. For many, that alone is comforting.

This is such an honest book. Some people will love this book because they can see their own life and their own mental evolution described in it. Others will hate it , because they are afraid or not willing to acknowledge the truth. But I tend to be more cynical than Ms. Narciso..some people just use religion as a way to make money...you can see a lot of examples if you just try a little. Another important reason for this "belief" is the human need to feel superior to others as she very well says....not to mention weakness or plain stupidity.
Ms. Narciso is just telling us about her experience , nothing more. But maybe as a by-product or as an unintended development she delivered a profound book in logical and critical thinking...She brings out such powerful ideas and expose them in plain easy English so everybody can ( if willing) understand.
And my conclusion to this wonderful book is: Make it your religion to do good to mankind, so that in the short time we'll have on this planet some people will be more happy because of you...and as there is no evidence of an afterlife or whatever you may call it ...This is all you have got...enjoy your days...
Very good work...read it with an OPEN MIND....!!

As a fellow atheist author, I really appreciate this new book. It has a very approachable style: it is written from her own experience, and it is not disrespectful of believers nor mean-spirited in its humor, unlike so many other such pieces of work. She comes herself from a believing perspective and gives the reasons why she came to see through it.
Beyond that, I share many of her key assessments of atheism: it is not a religion or a belief system; it is the rational conclusion to the question of gods; morality is relative and socially constructed; theists do (and have a vested interested in doing so) misrepresent us and misunderstand us.
For my own thoughts on these issues, see my "Natural Atheism" or visit www.naturalatheism.us
My only complaint is that, like so many atheist books, it focuses exclusively on Christianity, rather than taking the big picture that Christianity is just one of many religions. There is no need to argue about the Bible, since it is just one of many "sacred books." We should emphasize the point that Christianity is not the only theism and that theism is not the only religion. That should put Christianity in perspective even for the Christians.
However, for a readable and informative discussion of everything from classic arguments for god(s) to biblical errancy, this is a fine accomplishment.

I was so impressed with this book that I bought 12 of them, which I gave to family, friends and donated to libraries. Logical, realistic, the general reader will not get bogged down with technical terminology. Lively reading , never boring, about much more than being atheistic.

In the last 5 years there have been several really good, clear, readable books published about atheism, "Like Rolling up Hill" is another.

Much like the book "Dare to Think for Yourself" the author spends some time explaining why she personally does not believe in any gods, and outlining her own story of how she came to that position. For many readers who are interested in the question of any gods' existence, the chance to feel empathy with the author may be a refreshing change from books that focus purely on logical, evidentiary, and epistemological reasons for atheism vs. theism.

The main focus of this book is atheism as contrasted with Christianity. It provides a direct challenge to Christianity as well as some questions that most mainstream Christians would struggle to answer. It also provides some new and interesting historical and biblical analysis (and arguments) that aren't found in other books on atheism. On top of this, the author also provides some guidance on how Christians and atheists can talk to each other.

If you enjoy this book and want to read others like it, here are some recommendations:
1. If you like personal stories of why someone became an atheist try: "Dare to think for yourself" by Betty Brogaard
2. If you like clear, readable, and not overly complex books about atheism, try "Atheist universe" by David Mills.
3. If you want to look at more sophisticated philosophical arguments for and against theism try "Natural Atheism" by David Eller, and "Atheism: the case against God" by George Smith.
4. If you want an eclectic book that covers all of points 1-3 try "Sense and Goodness without God" by Richard Carrier.

Dianna Narciso, like so many atheists who finally removed their blinders, felt compelled to write a book about why she is an atheist. This book is not a "personal sojourn" or "chicken soup for the rationalist soul" or something like that. This is a no nonsense look at why atheism makes sense and why Christianity is really contradictory, fairy-tale mumbo jumbo. The main reason I enjoyed Like Rolling Uphill so much was that it was down to earth--George Smith's The Case Against God is its direct opposite. The former is clearly explained and does not dwell on points for too long in the text. You are never bored or find your mind wandering while reading this excellent nonfiction work.

Narciso clearly studied each of the issues she presents here quite extensively. She reports there's no solid evidence that a man called Jesus ever lived, and she provides reasonable backup so that the reader really feels the deep void of information about a real, credible savior god. Another strong point of the book is its clear and concise comparison of creation and messiah/salvation myths to the myths believed by most Christians today. This is a short, easy-to-read primer on a beautiful subject--basing one's life on facts by using reason and objective evidence to evaluate the world around us. This would be a good gift to the special person who might be ready to start thinking clearly.

Like Rolling Uphill is first and foremost a "Good Read". Concise and to the point, a personal account of one person's realization of the evidence of life that makes one a nonbeliever. While not likely to convert the believers, this book is one I will recommend to Christian friends to help them understand why I believe the way I do. I particularly like the approach she takes to allow her children to make their
own perceptions of what is. Ms Narcisco has an elegant and articulate manner in her arguments. OK, occasionally she gets off on a bit of a rant, but often those are the spikes that help make this book entertaining. More is told of an Atheist's view on the why's of existence in but 170 pages than in many lengthy volumes from so many boring diatribes. Use this one to pass around to your friends. I am pushing it to my Atheists of Zion discussion group to use as a topic for an upcoming meeting. As a lover of quotes, I enjoyed the many chapters that were preceded by quotes that fit the bill. I would have liked to see one for EVERY chapter. One for the book:
"To the nonbeliever no explanation is possible,
to the believer no explanation is necessary."
Fyodor Dostoyevsky

The book is a quick snap shot of "a-theism," simply defined as "without belief," and her arrival to it. Yes, I will agree with the other reviewers: it was concise and insightful, but I could not help but get the feeling that I could write the same book. (It built a patch quilt out of many other books that I have already read). The only novelty was her 1st person narrative style. It's as though she wrote a college paper on Dan Barker's book "Losing Faith in Faith." It acts as sort of a primer on atheism.

So if you're a well read skeptic, the info will NOT be new, but her fresh perspective will be. I would like to see more Christian reviews of the book.

Her book could easily be a watered down chapter in Sam Harris' 'The End of Faith,' which covers the larger question of faith itself.

As a testimonial, it will contribute to more atheists "coming out." They're now free to tell their Christian friends they don't believe in a "Satan" either.

The reviews reflect a biased sample, with so many published authors writing them. I guess that shows this is a ground floor niche on the book market! -Agnostic J.