mere atheism

George Ricker's latest book <I>mere atheism no gods.no problem!</I> describes what he sees as the essence of atheism. In the title essay he writes Nothing about atheism prevents me from thinking about any idea. It is the very epitome of freethought. Atheism imposes no dogma and seeks no power over others.<p>Written with the same candor and conversational style that characterized his earlier work this selection of material from the <I>Godless in America</I> web site ranges from rebuttals of criticisms of atheism Answering atheism's critics to essays on science Genes don't care and some hot-button issues A death in the life of a controversy to reflections on the joy of sailing and the impact of the world outside on the world within in Mockingbird.<p>The twenty-four essays cover a wide variety of subjects and the collection concludes with the one-act play A last rite and some wrongs.with apologetics.<p>Many people still cling to the notion of the village atheist obsessed by gods and religions bitter and lonely living on the edge of town with no friends and no family willing to acknowledge the kinship Ricker says. I hope this book will help change that perception.