a chilling warning for modern cultures.

This book gives a great insight into the culture of post -war England, soviet Russia and North Korea with chilling warnings for the modern Western culture.
I loved Hitchen's speech but he did drop volume at the end of sentences occasionally. other than that this is a great audio presentation.

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recommended

the content is challenging and Peter gives a strong case for religious belief and traditions. The audio quality is poor though.

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Good story, audio a bit off

Good listen, great book, but found the audio quality poor and hard to distinguish sometimes.

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A bulwark against materialist conformity

This is an extraordinary book. Both in scope and in intellect.

To articulate such an insightful analysis of social undercurrents that have been with humanity now for decades is not just the worthy achievement of this book. It also transcends and recognises emerging societal boundaries to independent thought that are already suppressing and dumbing-down everything from science, philosophy and to religion itself.

For the materialist atheist, what used to be unequivocal theories (such as evolution and abstract cosmology) are supposedly no longer theories but allegedly proofs of a new kind of 21st century science whose 'unprovability' is no obstacle to its success or fame of its authors.

Facts are only facts when they serve the purpose of heightening notoriety and the new 'cult of success' (which thanks to the internet and organs of social networking) has almost risen in the west, as high as the cult of personality once did in the past.

For example, one may not know who Carlo Rovelli or Sean Carroll are but their physicist's version of B-grade (or even C-grade) philosophy riding on the back of their physical theories has no end of admirers. This is the new information food-chain of the 21st century. Where success in any speculative area has to be taken as a context for delivering a new materialist philosophy. 'Einsteinism' has now transcended the physical world; relativity has now moved on include truth, objectivity and even the philosophy of science and reason itself.

Hardly a book or 'TED-style' public lecture from some nullity or hopeful can emerge without doffing it's hat to the materialist-atheist cult in some way, be it circular self-referential assumptions or outright agenda-driven philosophical manufacturing. How cheaply the word 'Professor' goes these days in some endeavours of human intellect, as long as the line is towed.

This book is the antidote to societal monoculture-of-thought and 'intellectual or social relativity'. The power and context of some of the statements, such as the last six lines of part 1, Chapter 7, I find reminiscent of Orwell;

"Only one reliable force stands in the way of the power of the strong over the weak. Only one reliable force forms the
foundation of the concept of the rule of law. Only one reliable force restrains the hand of the man of power. And, in an age of power-worship, the Christian religion has become the principal obstacle to the desire of earthly utopians for absolute power".

Peter Hitchens identifies in this book the philosophical roots of the 'materialist/atheistic cult' and shows its commonality with despotic regimes and why it is necessary for them to destroy not just the beliefs in higher moral authorities, but subvert objectivity and 'moral absolutes' to achieve this end. That objectivity, intellectualism and science themselves are a casualty hardly matters as this atheist cult's foot soldiers integrate themselves and their philosophy into the media organs of the times. And why? It's the ultimate irony that the motivation of the materialists is built to superficially resemble the Christianity they so love to hate, while really hiding the true intent which is all about power, moral autonomy and control.

The book also manages to be highly entertaining as Peter Hitchens draws on his on personal history as a journalist, re-evaluated to demonstrate his thesis. The narrative is frequently humorous and poignant at a personal level as he traverses decades of his own travels through tragic regimes such as Somalia and the former Soviet Union.

My hope is that it may some time in the future, the book may be updated to include the new 21st century despotism that has emerged and continues to grow with the help of the so-called 'free world'. The officially atheist China may ultimately succeed where the soviets have failed. Largely thanks to the resources and tools put in their hands over decades by western greed and ecumenical utopian delusion. The Orwellian social credit system, isolationism, destruction of the past and control of the present, (and no-doubt future) together with leadership/strong-man cults such as Xi is an enviable template for a potential neo-utopian.

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