From Booklist
The jacket copy describes this work "as a powerful weapon against religious conformists, dogmatists, and others who would roll back the clock on the teaching of evolution and who are working to tear down the wall of separation between church and state." This agenda does not bode well for any sense of balance or objectivity in presentation. In fact, author James Haught has penned a shallow reference work in lieu of engaging and refuting the positions of those with whom he disagrees. "The purpose of this book is to assure thinking people that they needn't apologize if they can't believe mystical claims. They are in the company of giants." By presenting "renowned people, past and present, who have challenged religion," he seems to imply that doubt of the supernatural is a credible position simply because many famous people have done so.Chapters present short biographical introductions to a number of famous philosophers, literary figures, historians, politicians, and artists (e.g., Locke, Shakespeare, Gibbon, Jefferson, Bertrand Russell), focusing more on their detractors and the problems these individuals encountered as a result of their disbelief rather than articulating their views and placing them in their historical context. A black-and-white portrait is provided for each person. The biographical sketch is followed by a selection of quotations from the person. However, passages from an individual's writings, taken in isolation and, thus, out of context, cannot give an accurate account of the person's thought on a subject. Haught also fails to supply complete bibliographic information for the works from which the quotations are drawn. A far better source is The Encyclopedia of Unbelief (Prometheus, 1986). While sharing the same doubts about religious belief as Haught's work, it nevertheless remains both balanced and scholarly in its presentation.In discussing the advance of Western civilization, Haught claims, "Much of the progress was impelled by men and women who didn't pray, didn't kneel at altars, didn't make pilgrimages, didn't recite creeds." His view, with its implicit disdain for people of faith, ignores the role religion has played in the development of the positive aspects of Western culture. Haught could have authored a work that presented the contributions of the nonreligious to the Western intellectual tradition. This work is vitriol, masquerading as a collection of antireligious quotations. Not recommended.

Midwest Book Review
The English speaking world rarely acknowledges the many and varied gifts that "disbelievers" have bestowed upon humanity. Churchmen generally contend that great figures in history, such as America's founders, were conventional believers. But author James A. Haught demonstrates that this just isn't true. In 2000 Years Of Disbelief: Famous People With The Courage To Doubt, he offers a spirited collection of biographical sketches and choice quotations to set the record straight -- intelligent, educated people tend to doubt the supernatural. It is hardly surprising to find a high ratio of religious skeptics among major thinkers, scientists, writers, reformers,scholars, champions of democracy, and other world changers -- people called "great" in history. The advance of Western civilization has been partly a story of gradual victory over oppressive religion, and these brilliant doubters were men and women who didn't pray, didn't kneel at altars, didn't make pilgrimages, and didn't recite creeds. Included in this handy reference are such internationally famous figures as Isaac Asimov, W. E. B. DuBois, Will Durant, Albert Einstein, Benjamin Franklin, Edward Gibbon, Langston Hughes, Thomas Jefferson, Omar Khayyam, Abraham Lincoln, James Madison, John Stuart Mill, Ayn Rand, Gene Roddenberry, Margaret Sanger, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Voltaire, and many others whose own words reveal their rejection of the supernatural.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Intelligent, educated people tend to be critical of the supernatural and the so-called revealed truths of religion. So it is hardly surprising to find a great number of skeptics and unbelievers among our major inventors, scientists, writers, social reformers, and other world changers - people usually termed great. The advance of Western civilization has been partly a story of the gradual victory over religious oppression, and these brilliant doubters were men and women who didn't pray, didn't kneel at altars, didn't make pilgrimages, and didn't recite creeds. 2,000 years of Disbelief is a book of quotes that brings together the words of the "greats" of both East and West, from antiquity to the present. Included in this stirring collection are such renowned skeptics as Epicurus, Voltaire, Arthur Schopenhauer, Mark Twain, and Bertrand Russell. But also represented are many whose skepticism is not so well known, and who are for this reason regarded by churchmen and others as conventional believers. Notable among these are many U.S. presidents. Thus we learn, for example, that George Washington had no belief in Christianity and that Abraham Lincoln never joined a church. 2,000 Years of Disbelief is an anthology not only of outstanding philosophers, scientists, and poets, but also of figures in the arts and entertainment as well as prominent scholars and politicians. Arranged chronologically for ease of reference, with each chapter devoted to a particular figure or period, this witty, insightful collection reveals the extent to which the most renowned people in all areas expressed, both publicly and privately, their courage to doubt, often in the face of great personal risk. A delight to read as well a a valuable sourcebook, 2,000 Years of Disbelief provides a powerful weapon against religious conformists, dogmatists, and others who would roll back the clock on the teaching of evolution and who are working to tear down the wall of separation between church and state

FROM THE CRITICS

Dallas Morning News

Think of the book as a Bartlett's for the unbeliever.

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