Dinesh D'Souza's "What's So Great About Christianity" is an intellectually disciplined, fact-based refutation of recent "New Atheist" bestsellers including Christopher Hitchens' "God Is Not Great," Richard Dawkins' "The God Delusion," and Sam Harris' "Letter to a Christian Nation." The great advantage that D'Souza's book holds over its opponents': while New Atheist bestsellers rely for their power on sarcasm, insult, contempt, and arrogance, D'Souza's book relies on facts, logic and research. Michael Shermer, a professional atheist who is personally thanked in both Hitchens' and Dawkins' books, says of "What's So Great About Christianity," D'Souza "is a first rate scholar whom I feel absolutely compelled to read…D'Souza's book takes the debate to a new level." Shermer is correct about that much.

It would be easy for D'Souza to match insult for insult; Hitchens' public drunkenness and Dawkins' un-self-aware arrogance make easy targets. D'Souza does not take the bait. He quotes his opponents' attempts to sell atheism and convince readers that persons of faith are untermenschen, ignores their venom, and — easily — rebuts the New Atheists' points with scholarship. His tone is academic and verges on the dry. There are few to no rhetorical fireworks. D'Souza steps back and lets the facts speak for themselves.

D'Souza covers a wide range of material: theology, philosophy, church history, secular history, and science. For the most part, he does a pretty good job. There are sentences here and there that could have been written differently; I emailed him about one passage and he graciously ceded my point. In any case, the index and footnotes provide the reader with resources to further research any of the scholars, events, or philosophical positions D'Souza cites.

For the most part, if you want to read a level-headed, wide ranging, well supported response to recent New Atheist diatribes, this book is a very good choice.

A personal note: Never did I think I'd see the day when I'd post a positive review of a Dinesh D'Souza book. I'm a feminist, leftist, pro-choice woman who has been active in the struggle for gay rights. D'Souza's career, from his arrival on the scene by outing closeted homosexuals at Dartmouth, to his work for Ronald Reagan, his dating Ann Coulter, and his 9-11 book has been, to say the least, alienating to me. To my genuine surprise, he does a good job here, and deserves the credit for that.

from an Amazon Reviewer  -  Danusha Goska

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