"Michael Shermer‘s latest contribution is an insightful tour de force that will no doubt provoke virtually everyone who reads it."
—Donald Johanson, Director, Institute of Human Origins, author of From Lucy to Language
"Those who enjoyed Michael Shermer's acclaimed Why People Believe Weird Things will welcome the extension of his critical but balanced study of the belief in God . . . Insightful, intriguing, and enlightening."
—American Scientist
"This book will convince and delight all who are not chronically averse to opening their minds and thinking for themselves."
—Richard Dawkins, author of Unweaving the Rainbow
"Well-researched, comprehensive, and persuasive. How We Believe is especially notable in stressing the great power of narration as the vehicle of complex thought . . . . The humanistic, evolutionary explanation may in fact be ready to break out of the intellectually remote domain in which it has been developed and too long hemmed-in."
—Edward O. Wilson, Pulitzer Prize winner, author of Consilience,
Research Professor and Honorary Curator in Entomology, Harvard University
"[How We Believe] is unusually useful . . . . It sheds unique light on the interior life of a well-informed atheist today, and may foreshadow a new spirit of amity and mutual inquiry."
—Washington Post Book World
"[Shermer] brilliantly explores our propensity to be story-telling animals."
—Natural History
"[Shermer's] discussion ranges eloquently and learnedly over broad areas of philosophy, theology, and science. In the end, whatever the reader's own thinking, she will probably discover that she has learned a lot about the opinions other people have on 'the God Question' and why they hold those opinions."
—Scientific American
"Although Shermer's arguments will probably not be decisive for debates between nonbelievers and believers, both will be able to appreciate this readable and generally fair-minded treatment of a subject that often provokes contentious dispute."
—Publishers Weekly
"Anyone interested in contemporary discussions on science and religion will find this book immensely helpful."
—Science Book & Film
