Ingersoll still resounds today

reposted from: NSS Newsline today

"Happiness is the only good ... the time to be happy is now, and the way to be happy is to make others so." Robert Green Ingersoll, American humanist 1876
BHA postcard (buy 10 for £3.50 from BHA)

Ingersoll still resounds today
Robert G. Ingersoll was one of the 19th century America's most famous and popular men. Now he has been almost entirely erased from the history of that country. The reason? Well, he was the Christopher Hitchens of his day, a wonderfully entertaining orator who used his verbal skills to launch a full frontal attack on religion. His lecture tours played to packed houses, his every utterance was reported by the press. Wherever he went, crowds would follow. So devastating were the fusillades that he launched at the Bible and the people who preached it, that he was under constant attack from the religious establishment. The ruthless religious forces that holds power at the moment in the USA are obviously not anxious that such a man should be remembered, and so one of America's most interesting historical figures has been air-brushed from the picture. Apart from a few enthusiasts, Ingersoll is almost forgotten.

Now we have in the NSS shop a book of his speeches, his essays and his sayings. The Best of Robert Ingersoll. This is a book that will cheer every freethinker because it is written by a man who was clearly in love with life. That infectious joie de vivre comes across in every sentence, and an earthy compassion shines through all he writes. If you don't know the works of Robert Ingersoll, prepare to become a fan. Every thinking person should have this book on their shelf for frequent perusal.

Buy it on-line at our shop for £13.99 plus £1.50 p&p or by post from NSS Books, 25 Red Lion Square, London WC1R 4RL.

While you're at the shop, why not take a look at our new range of secular seasonal cards. They're beautiful and unusual – just the ticket for the non-believer who wants, nonetheless, to send good wishes at the solstice season. See here for more information.