A Devil's Chaplain, by Richard Dawkins

10.07.09, Bailey Shoemaker, for EXAMINER (US). Reading Richard Dawkins requires an open mind, no matter what your opinion of the subject matter is. One could be a vehement atheist or a fundamentalist Christian –and Dawkins will still manage to find a way to needle you. Although he is a brilliant writer and evolutionary biologist, the man is undeniably pompous; one can feel the scorn for anyone who disagrees with him in his tone practically oozing off of the pages of his books. Pompous he may be, but once you can get past that, Dawkins is just plain interesting to read. His book A Devil’s Chaplain proves that without a shadow of a doubt. A Devil’s Chaplain is a fascinating piece of writing. Its essay format, divided into several sections with each essay serving as a chapter, makes it easy to read when functioning with a busy schedule. An essay here or there isn’t going to take too much time out of a reader’s day, but Dawkins can pack enough scientific, ethical or legal information into 20 pages to keep one up at night thinking about it.