A couple of correspondents in The Times recently criticised scientist Richard Dawkins and his book The God Delusion. To counter their criticism here are a few tributes to him and his worldwide bestseller.

“Oh, it’s so refreshing, after being told all your life that it is virtuous to be full of faith, to read such a resounding trumpet blast for truth instead. It feels like coming up for air” – Matt Ridley.

“(Prof.) Dawkins will delight any reader with a modicum of intelligence and intellectual regard who doesn’t need to have the human world wrapped up into a convenient and cosy package created by a shadowy super-being” – Herald Tribune.

“I see this as a book for a new millennium, one in which we may be released from lives dominated by the supernatural” – Brian Eno.

“Passionate religious irrationality too often poses serious obstacles to human betterment. To oppose it effectively, the world needs equally passionate rationalists unafraid to challenge long accepted beliefs. Richard Dawkins so stands out through the cutting intelligence of The God Delusion” – James D. Watson, Nobel Laureate.