Customer Reviews:
BUY THIS BOOK. YOU WILL LOVE IT!.......2001-08-18
If you wish to know the truth behind the creation of our countries system of government i suggest buying this book. And every other book madalyn o'hair wrote. "all the questions you ever wanted to ask an american atheist with all the ansewers.
dont allow the uneducated christian to warp your mind find the truth for yourself. dont accept thier assumptions they dont make history correct. only the truth does.
Book Description
This is the first book Madalyn Murray O'Hair ever wrote. It is composed of transcripts of her landmark 1968 Atheist radio broadcasts made under the aegis of the Society of Separationists, the parent organization from which American Atheists Inc. later developed.
This corrected new edition allows you to join Madalyn as she expounds upon an avalanche of theological and political topics: government giveaways of property to churches; the real 'religious foundations' of the United States; the philosophical and historical foundations of Atheism; Atheist thinkers and writers of various epochs; the dozens, not legions, of Christian martyrs put to death in antiquity; errors and absurdities of the Bible; and more.
Customer Reviews:
Very insightful and quite provacative for the open minded........1998-11-25
This is a collection of transcripts from the original broadcasts of Madalyn O'Hair's brief radio show from the late 1960's. That said, one must keep in mind the general mentallity of the era and opposition to this type of program. It follows that the information conveyed needed to be as compressed as possible, so the topics could not go into too much detail, but the lack of a cross-reference is disappointing. Also, the challenges to the "establishment" could sometimes seem a bit extreem in some of her claims which is why I only give it four stars instead of five. Otherwise it is refreshing to read from someone, like Michael Crichton, who actually did her homework to support her position and encourages others to question even her own claims (a bibliography is provided but, unfortunately, outdated). Unlike another excellent book "Cows, Pigs, Wars and Witches" by Marvin Harris, which covers some of the same themes, the plus of not going into too much detail is that you get more "factoids" that, if true, are sometimes entertaining and sometimes even infuriating, but always interesting. The format of the book makes it nice for "reading on the go". All things said, Madalyn O'Hair did an outstanding job of explaining what on Earth an atheist really is.
Book Description
Obscene, belligerent, obsessive, and brilliant, the infamous and outrageous Madalyn Murray O'Hair succeeded in becoming "America's Most Hated Woman." Now award-winning journalist Ted Dracos reveals the incredible true story of the life and murder of the woman who changed the religious habits of an entire nation.
As the woman who won a longshot, landmark Supreme Court case to ban prayer in public schools -- and also the millionaire murdered for her ill-gained money -- Madalyn Murray O'Hair was one of the most powerful personalities of the twentieth century. Investigative reporter Ted Dracos presents an amazing account of O'Hair's life -- a story that is rare in the annals of crime and is truly stranger than fiction.
With impeccable research based on thousands of pages of court records, nearly one hundred interviews in fourteen states, and never-before-released documents UnGodly traces the self-anointed atheist high priestess from her public skirmishes with the law through her remarkable legal maneuverings and her schemes to siphon off enormous sums of money from the foundations she created. O'Hair's private life proves as bizarre as her public life. UnGodly also explains for the first time the full story of the kidnapping and murder of O'Hair, her son, and granddaughter -- a grisly multiple murder masterminded by a genius ex-con who hoped to pocket nearly a million dollars worth of loot in a pitiless and cunning plot.
Fearless, combative, and domineering, O'Hair led one of the most unforgettable -- and almost unbelievable -- lives in American history. UnGodly -- a seamless blend of biography and murder mystery -- is a chilling portrait of a fascinating, complex woman whose life finally became a living hell.
Customer Reviews:
flawed.......2004-12-22
A tawdry account of the life of O'Hair, apparently an egocentrist diminished by the history in which she found herself. The author's dislike of his subject and lack of documentation are all too obvious.
Omnisciently relates O'Hair's motives, thoughts, etc. without specifying sources. The author is judgmental, petty and contradictory in portraying O'Hair (e.g., how does he know she only bathed weekly?).
One interesting point (speculation, no sources given) is on the origin of O'Hair's antireligious sentiment: a failed love affair. Fairly apparent that her response to religion was psychological rather than philosophical, O'Hair was certainly not in the league of Dawkins or Sagan.
Interesting material, but lacks basic scholarship and appears to have been written for the tabloid set. Unfortunate, for the issues concerned are as critical today as then.
Fascinating story!.......2004-11-24
I wouldn't classify this as a "biography," but it was a very interesting tale of O'Hair's life (and death). I hadn't followed the case against her murderers when it played out; it was quite fascinating to read about it.
Despite what some of the reviewers have written, I didn't think this was a biased book. Hey, it's hard to portray as a saint a woman as wicked as her. Regardless of whether you agree with her Athiesm, she WAS an evil, greedy woman who bilked many of her supporters out of thousands if not millions of dollars. Sadly, it was greed itself that led to her murder.
An UNBIASDED look!!.......2004-10-25
UNGODLY is a superb account of the events in the O'Hair's lives. The book shows an UNBIASED look at these individuals despite what other reviewers have said. Most atheist reviewers will not like this book because it shows the true nasty nature of Ms. O'Hair. She was close to a criminal herself with all her tax problems. She was a hard person to like and was obnoxious beyond normal considerations. She had utter contempt for Christians and most people in general. Of course, this in no way excuses her horrible murder. It may be ironic, but I am not justifying murder. What I take issue with is that some reviewers have stated that the Christians in the book are portrayed as all good and the atheists are shown to be vile. I must have read a different book than they did. Certainly some Christians are portrayed as good, but others are portrayed as con-artists. Some atheists are shown to be kind people of good character while others push forward the gospel of hate. Some reviewers seem to take issue with any perspective that they disagree with. I am a Christian, and I have a dear friend who is an atheist. I feel that he is misguided, and he feels that I am incorrect. We debate, but we still maintain a mutual respect for one another. Dracos has shown both sides and told a reasonably accurate account of the O'Hair's lives. His work is researched to the hilt. UNGODLY is NOT biased in any way. Many times throughout the book Dracos portrays Madalyn in a negative light. He also shows respect for her abilities and empathy for her death. I have no idea if Dracos is a Christian or not, but in his acknowledgements he thanks Pan and the presiding Gods. This is tongue in cheek, but as a Christian I personally would not thank Pagan gods even in jest. I say this to point out that Dracos DOES NOT have some hidden Christian agenda. He is just giving a compelling account of a tragic yet interesting life.
More "True Crime" than "Biography".......2004-10-14
Although this book does give the chronological story of MMO's life, it is written in the sensationalistic style typical of true crime books; that is why I say it is more "true crime" than "biography". For 30 years MMO was the reigning goddess of atheism in America. Her fatal flaw was her contempt for humanity in general, not just Christians. Using MMO's diaries & atheist newsletter, the author lets us know her opinions of the people in her life. Her mother was a "dumb broad". Her office workers at her atheist headquarters in Austin were "scum, derelicts, lumpen proletariat" (the rest of the words she used -including racial slurs- might possibly be deleted by amazon.com if I included them here). Her oldest son, who converted to Christianity was a "post natal abortion". Her financial supporters were "gutless bastards". As noted in her diaries, she had a special dislike for Jewish people. It seems the only people she had kind words for were those who acquiesced to her domineering personality.
The author has a lot of unkind words for people too, at one point remarking that Bill Murray's "homely" wife Susan wore thick, black-rimmed glasses "of a sort that a mean-spirited librarian might wear". (I'm not sure why the author singled out librarians for this insult.) There is a photo of Susan in the book and as far as I am concerned she has very pleasant features and I believe the glasses she is wearing were considered fashionable at the time. I think the catty remarks are unnecessary and take away from the quality of the book.
At the time of MMO's disappearance I was living in Austin. I remember reading in the paper a speculative article that she had died and her son and grand-daughter had spirited her body away to someplace where Christians could not pray for her soul at her gravesite. Apparently nobody, not even the athiests cared enough about the abrasive and arrogant MMO to bother trying to find out what happened to her. The police seemed to have little interest in the case, and it took Bill Murray a year to file a missing persons report on his mother, half brother and daughter. It took a newspaper reporter, John MacCormack, and a private investigator, Tim Young, to initiate the investigation that would lead to the arrest and conviction of Waters and Karr for murder.
One issue that I would have liked for the author to explore more fully was why Bill and Susan turned their daughter Robin over for MMO to raise. Neither Bill nor Susan seemed to like MMO, so why would they allow MMO to raise their daughter? If they had not done so, she would probably still be alive today.
This is a very uneven work, still it is interesting and hard to put down due to the "true crime!" style prose that has a tendency to "hook" readers and hold their attention throughout the book.
Pathetic.......2004-09-28
Like other reviewers have stated, this is a very poorly written and biased book. One wonders if it is intentional or not. Easily one of the most biased books I have read, ever.
Book Description
View the
Table of Contents. Read the
Introduction.
"Clear-eyed and judicious." —The Women's Review of Books
"The Atheist belongs on the short shelf of books on American atheism, church-state relations, and school prayer."—The Journal of American History
"The Atheist is especially instructive today as issues of the separation of chruch and state continue to reverberate throughout our culture...well documented."—BOOK LOOK
"Le Beau offers an informative and melancholy portrait of self-promotion and folly."—American Historical Review
"Le Beau's biography is the longer and better researched of two recently published lives of Murray."
—The New Republic
"O'Hair's story is especially instructive today as issues of the separation of chruch and state continue to reverberate throughout our culture."
—Crosswinds Weekly
"Le Beau presents a well-rounded and thoughtful treatment of O'Hair's life and times, and his knowledge and research are evident throughout."
— Library Journal
"Yet
The Atheist is a rewarding book, for the sight of Le Beau, a Missourian and a thoroughly professional historian, at work. He assembles and evaluates sweeping detail, narrates lucidly, leaving you to choose your side."
—The Baltimore Sun
"...thoughtful and vigorous portrait drawn of an extraordinary women."
—Journal of American Studies
"Assessing O'Hair's legacy, Le Beau is skeptical, ungenerous and...mostly correct."
—Reason
"Le Beau's skillful treatment of the issues of personality, public perception, and constitutional principle makes this books, if not required, then at least strongly recommended reading for all who are interested in issues of constitutional development."
—Journal of Church and State
In 1964, Life magazine called Madalyn Murray O'Hair "the most hated woman in America." Another critic described her as "rude, impertinent, blasphemous, a destroyer not only of beliefs but of esteemed values."
In this first full-length biography, Bryan F. Le Beau offers a penetrating assessment of O'Hair's beliefs and actions and a probing discussion of how she came to represent both what Americans hated in their enemies and feared in themselves. Born in 1919, O'Hair was a divorced mother of two children born out of wedlock. She launched a crusade against God, often using foul language as she became adept at shocking people and making effective use of the media in delivering her message. She first gained notoriety as one of the primary litigants in the 1963 case Murray v. Curlett which led the Supreme Court to ban school prayer. The decision stunned a nation engaged in fighting "godless Communism" and made O'Hair America's most famous—and most despised—atheist.
O'Hair led a colorful life, facing assault charges and extradition from Mexico, as well as the defection of her son William, who as an adult denounced her. She later served as Hustler publisher Larry Flynt's chief speech writer in his bid for President of the United States.
Drawing on original research, O'Hair's diaries, and interviews, Le Beau traces her development from a child of the Depression to the dictatorial, abrasive woman who founded the American Atheists, wrote books denouncing religion, and challenged the words "Under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, "In God We Trust" on American currency, the tax exempt status of religious organizations, and other activities she saw as violating the separation of church and state.
O'Hair remained a spokesperson for atheism until 1995, when she and her son and granddaughter vanished. It was later discovered that they were murdered by O'Hair's former office manager and an accomplice.
Fast-paced, engagingly written, and sharply relevant to ongoing debates about school prayer and other religious issues,
The Atheist tells the colorful life-story of a woman who challenged America's most deeply held beliefs.
Customer Reviews:
Informative, but..........2004-01-07
This biography is informative and I found the Introduction and first two chapters to be particularly well done. However, the author's writing fairly quickly becomes tedious. His style is flat, unengaging and repetitive. Once he has covered the initial case that brought notoriety to Murray O'Hair, the rest is just slogging through a sad and difficult life. For example, the time when Murray O'Hair was debating the evangelist Bob Harrington in the 70s should have made for fascinating reading, but the narrative here is disappointingly superficial.
The tragic end to Madalyn Murray O'Hair's life is reported. There are lots of details, but that's it. It is tedious and Le Beau's sometimes excellent insights are overshadowed by uninspired prose.
Superficial.......2003-10-07
"The Atheist"? The title implies that there is (or was) only one.
For a college professor, this isn't badly written, but the book is incomplete, and little new is revealed. LeBeau relies heavily on published articles and other books. Save for a peek at the Nassour collection, his sources could have been found almost exclusively online.
According to Peggy Hopkins Joyce, "There is not a woman living who is physically or mentally capable of telling the true story of her life." LeBeau admits that O'Hair's various autobiographies were often contradictory. So why does he depend on them so much? Throughout this book, he cites O'Hair's version of events as his only source, not bothering to investigate whether her claims had any veracity.
The book at least exposes some of the typically vicious Christians who plague this country. While there's no excuse for vandalism, perhaps an argument can be made that O'Hair brought the hate mail on herself, but if Robert S. Alley's book Without a Prayer is any indication, anyone who challenges religious encroachment experiences similar harassment.
LeBeau's recognition that O'Hair filed lawsuits mostly for publicity is one more item to file under This Is Not News. He could have used it as another piece of evidence that she was little more than a fifth-rate media celebrity and professional mendicant, but he just let it drop. He did note that, by establishing precedent, her losses strengthened the religious opposition.
Far too many errors mar this book. At least two dozen mistakes falsified facts, and some questionable assertions were made, as were several more typos. LeBeau is a history professor -- would this many errors prevent a student of his from receiving a passing grade? I wonder about the accuracy of the history he teaches.
This book does little more than perpetuate O'Hair's version of O'Hair's legend.
There are two sides to every story.......2003-04-18
and then there is the truth. Bryan Le Beau gets to the truth beautifully in this informative and interesting book.
Trying to understand Madalyn Murray O'Hair was always difficult. Her message was sometimes lost in the chaos of her showmanship. Le Beau presents quotes and arguments in a cohesive form that help the reader understand her point of view in a way that eliminates all the emotional button pushing that O'Hair needed to do in order to get the attention of the press. Without O'Hair's personality interfering with her message it becomes infinitely easier to understand what the message actually was and how the prevailing mores of the time affected the various media, and even personal, events in O'Hair's life.
I found the examination of O'Hair's controlling personality and it's effects on her life and her cause particularly interesting and it was presented in an unbiased way - something that is rare when reading and trying to understand about O'Hare and her views. The historical overviews of Madalyn Murray O'Hair's lifetime were nicely written and ultimately necessary to fully understand what it was that was propelling O'Hair through her life.
After reading "An Atheist Epic" by Madalyn Murray O'Hair and "My Life Without God" by William J. Murray it was difficult for me to really understand where the truth lies. I was pleased to find it in "The Atheist: Madalyn Murray O'Hair".
Informative But Not Especially Engaging.......2003-03-04
Whether you're an ardent fan or a bitter foe of world-renowned atheist Madalyn Murray O'Hair, once widely known as "the most hated woman in America," you've probably read most of what Bryan Le Beau's biography has to tell you already, whether it's in O'Hair's own books, such as "All the Questions You Ever Wanted to Ask American Atheists -- With All the Answers," in her elder son William J. Murray's critical autobiography "My Life Without God," or in other third-person accounts of her life's work such as Lawrence Wright's "Saints & Sinners." I credit the author with bringing together a comprehensive compilation of facts, figures, observations, and quotations, but unfortunately not with presenting a unified portrait of a major figure of late 20th-century American free thought.
Le Beau's exposé begins promisingly enough as we're treated to invaluable excerpts from O'Hair's diary entries covering the early days of her adult life, when she was still wrestling with many of the iconoclastic ideas that would later make her famous, and which are more a part of our present worldview than most people probably want to admit. She left her first husband for another man during the conformist McCarthy era, for instance, nearly twenty years before such behavior became socially acceptable, and refused to marry the father of her second son because she considered him her intellectual inferior. The book shows us the genesis of her mission against the influence of organized religion in the lives of unbelievers as well as her family's exodus from persecution and hostility. All too quickly, however, we move into the realm of religious polemics and lose sight of the colorful personality behind the Murray (and later O'Hair) family's struggle to protect what Madalyn regarded as her First Amendment right to freedom not only of but also from religion. She had only begun her fight when she won her 1963 landmark victory in the Supreme Court to have mandatory prayer and Bible reading removed from America's public schools, and wasn't about to stop there. By the book's midpoint, quotes from O'Hair's radio and television broadcasts are presented out of chronological sequence without a unifying theme that might show us more of the real motivation behind the message. In William Murray's autobiography, which for the most part depicts O'Hair as a heartless villainess, she at least emerges as a three-dimensional flesh-and-blood human being who for better or worse held sway over a coterie of non-conformists and freethinkers who, apparently like her son, began to resent and ultimately to rebel against the extent of her influence. He honestly exposes his own flaws as well, at least up to a point, explaining how he virtually abandoned his daughter to his mother's care as he struggled with drugs and alcohol. For him, religion was the cure-all. For Madalyn O'Hair, we learn, it was just another soporific intoxicant best avoided by responsible individuals. Le Beau's analysis presents Madalyn O'Hair more as the often cold, analytical brain behind the operation than its warm, pulsing heart, even though it offers us random detailed glimpses of her emotional vicissitudes -- courage, bitterness, determination, panic -- and while it is more impartial than Murray's book, it never takes us very far beneath the surface. We learn little about O'Hair's second marriage, which lasted more than a decade, or her relationship with her family after her notoriety began to wane in the 1980s, when her son William became a Christian and when she began to alienate many of her former supporters with her increasingly outrageous behavior. Even most of those who stood by her to the end are only mentioned in passing.
For nearly eighty pages (and through more than the usual number of typographical errors), Le Beau's O'Hair remains only a figurehead to us, even as he discusses her mysterious disappearance in 1995 and her eventual murder, which even those who had long hated her found inexplicably brutal. Even though we may admire O'Hair as an indefatigable pioneer of secularism (or hate her as a foul-mouthed exponent of irreligion), we only occasionally feel we really know her as the driven human being she unquestionably was. While the astute reader can discover how O'Hair managed to distill the ideas of other freethinkers from Socrates to Carl Sagan into a refreshing elixir of liberating unbelief, the book remains more journalism than true biography. If you like cold facts, though, presented dispassionately, this is the book for you.
Book Description
Why did Life magazine dub her "the most hated woman in America"?
Did she unravel the moral fiber of America or defend the Constitution?
They found her heaped in a shallow grave, sawed up, and burned. Thus ended Madalyn Murray O'Hair, the "atheist bitch" whose 1963 U.S. Supreme Court case ended school prayer. Her Christian-baiting lawsuits spanned three more decades; she was on TV all over the country, foul-mouthed-witty, and passionate, launching today's culture wars over same-sex marriage and faith-based initiatives.
She was a man-hater who loved sex, a bully whose heart broke for the downtrodden. She was accused of schizophrenia, alcoholism, and embezzlement, but never cowardice or sloth. She was an ideologue who spewed toxic rage even at the followers who made her a millionaire. She was a doting mother who approached prospects to mate with her lonely children, and whose cannibalistic love led them to their grave. She thrived on her fame, but just as the curtain of obscurity began to lower, the family vanished in one of the strangest of America's true crimes.
This is the real story of "the most hated woman in America," by the only author to interview the killer and those close to him and to witness the family's secret burial in Austin, Texas.
Customer Reviews:
A good book, but too much material about David Waters.......2006-12-30
This is a pretty good book on O'Hair's life, although, like another reviewer, I did wonder why there was so much material on her murderer, David Waters. It is likely because the author interviewed him, wanted to used the material in the book, and the information is somewhat relevant to the story. However, it is really hard to read a book about O'Hair and really get a feel for the woman.
There is a radio interview/debate between O'Hair and Walter Martin, a Baptist minister, that occured in 1968 on the Long John Nevel radio show that is very illuminating, if you care to take the time to listen to it. If you go to the Wikipedia entry on Madalyn Murray O'Hair and scroll down to the "external links" section, there is an entry labeled "Baptist minister Walter Martin vs. Atheist Madalyn Murray O'Hair". Click on it, and you'll get the entire three hour radio program in MP3 format. The first hour or so is the interview, and the last two hours is the debate and call-in part of the show.
Listening to this show after reading the book really gives you a feel for the facts presented in the book. For one, O'Hair really shows herself up to be quite the publicist in spite of her claims of not caring what other people think. As the book says, she needed these "other people" as a revenue stream. In this broadcast she claims that she is married to a "Mr. Murray", that he is Roman Catholic, and that both her sons are products of that marriage. Even O'Hair knew that, in 1960's America, most people would be much more willing to accept that she was an atheist than the fact that her sons had two different fathers and that she had never married either of them. She also makes the statement that if her son Bill decided to become a Christian minister that she would accept his decision. 12 years later when this actually happened, she took the attitude that he had commited treason. As the show wears on, O'Hair's end of the debate largely consists of name-calling, bullying, and claiming that "she had read every book Mr. Martin has read twenty years ago". In short, the radio program gives life to the facts presented in the book for those too young to remember what this woman was like in person.
If you want to read a biography of O'Hair, this is probably the one to get since it is the most unbiased and least sensational of the books written on the subject.
Another great book by Ann Rowe Seaman.......2006-11-19
Ann Rowe Seaman has written another fascinating and captivating masterpiece. It works well in paperback format, but a hard bound edition would have been nice to see as well.
Ann has a way of drawing the reader into the life circumstances of the persons whom she is writing about. She deserves a Ph.D. for all of her writing efforts.
A flawed book about a flawed woman.......2006-01-11
For better and for worse, Ann Seaman's biography is now the definitive account of Madalyn O'Hair's life. Let's start with the worse.
The sensationalistic title might be confused with Jon Rappoport's hack piece. Perhaps O'Hair was America's most hated woman at one time, but Jane Fonda replaced her in the early 1970s, and various feminists and celebrities have since vied for the distinction. "Gruesome death" reveals the climax, implicitly letting reviewers do likewise.
This is yet another biography that starts at the end, with the burial of O'Hair's remains. The device has been done to death, and it never works. I hope that whoever started this trend met a gruesome death similar to O'Hair's. Authors take note; we're born, we live, and THEN we die.
O'Hair's life story is often interrupted by that of her killer David Waters. At one point, I yelled, "Whose bio IS this?" Waters certainly belongs here, but Seaman would better have waited until he entered O'Hair's life to begin his history.
O'Hair's son Bill Murray is quoted throughout this book. Like Waters, he's necessary to the plot, but his Christian agenda requires that he slag atheists, which he enjoys doing through his mother, never mind the Fifth Commandment (does he also preach "family values"?). By taking Murray's alleged "In Hoc Signo Vince" nightmare at face value, Seaman failed to recognize its origin in Eusebius' falsified Constantine biography, thus missing the irony of a Catholic propagandist turning Murray into a Baptist.
Occasional digressions promote Seaman's contention that state and church should commingle. When religion is the topic, opposing viewpoints are forbidden, but when freethought is discussed, religious replies are mandatory: with two exceptions, Seaman adheres to this mainstream dictum. The reader is left to wonder about the author's motives for writing this book.
While Seaman's writing is concise, she sometimes sacrifices clarity. Several threads are left dangling: When the Truth Seeker sued O'Hair and her attorney John Vinson under the RICO act, "Vinson quickly extricated himself, ultimately testifying against her". Two years later, after a scuttled agreement and a mistrial, Vinson was again her attorney. What happened in the meantime? Jon Murray's cellular phone reportedly went dead (meaning disconnected) on September 29, 1995, but "no one answered" it (meaning that it rang) on the following Monday. Exactly what became of the phone isn't revealed. The July 1995 American Atheist newsletter detailing David Waters' criminal history was faxed to Waters. By whom? Another disgruntled former AA employee? O'Hair herself? And with what devastating information did FBI agent Donna Cowling prompt Waters into entering a plea agreement?
Then there are the dozens of errors, including: "Lena even welcomed her daughter's recounting of DEEP THROAT one night after Madalyn had seen it in town." Lena died in 1967: DEEP THROAT premiered in 1972. That conversation didn't happen. "...in next November's U.S. Senate race, Texan Lloyd Bentsen, a conservative Republican, defeated longtime liberal incumbent Ralph Yarborough..." Bentsen was never a Republican; he defeated Yarborough in the 1970 Democratic primary. In November's general election, he defeated Republican George Bush. "David Waters was indicted on the same five counts as Karr had been." One of the counts was different: Karr wasn't charged with interstate transportation of a firearm by a convicted felon. Granted, many of the mistakes are minor, but collectively, they call the book's entire account into question.
In her favor, when Seaman sticks to O'Hair's story, her book is engaging. She comes closer than anyone to understanding O'Hair's behavior: "She learned early the value of being in control when others were not. It so marked her that she eventually sought out or created chaotic conditions so she could feel in control." "...she enjoyed outsmarting people and getting out of scrapes, and the only way to defeat her was either trickery or betrayal. She would navigate hundreds of close calls in her life, and develop an addiction to brinkmanship and even danger."
O'Hair's belligerence is also attributed to her wildly fluctuating insulin dosages; a potentially malfunctioning pituitary is mentioned, as is speculation that she may have been bipolar. Such an unstable individual shouldn't be considered a reliable advocate, yet the press made her the sole atheist representative because she was the perfect bad example.
Seaman has found more details about O'Hair's pre-fame decades than all of her prior biographers combined. One of O'Hair's jobs during World War II was to invent Allied victories for the newswires. From it, she learned a valuable lesson that later served her profitably: "The ability of those in power to manipulate the media, and to lie and get away with it, impressed her." Seaman's assertion that O'Hair "chronically lied about everything" isn't off by much.
During the McCarthy era, O'Hair's inability to hold a steady job generated resentment, which led her to communist circles. She abandoned her communist connections after her notoriety produced a healthy income.
Only two of O'Hair's dozens of lawsuits succeeded. The rest of them (aside from those that harassed former members and ex-employees) strengthened the religious opposition by establishing negative precedents. Seaman confirms that O'Hair used lawsuits primarily as publicity and fund-raising tools.
Seaman's sleuthing results in the most accurate account of the Murray O'Hairs' final days. Allegations of torture were apparently false; murder wasn't planned until one of the kidnappers lost his patience. Seaman also exposes holes in the gold thieves' story.
The book is well written, extensively researched, usually chronological, and probably the most complete and informative account of Madalyn O'Hair we'll see. I'd recommend it, but if it were a car, it would be recalled. Its publisher should cease current production, correct the errors, tie up the loose ends, replace the editorial digressions with facts, limit David Waters to the book's last third, change the beginning, and issue a new edition.
Or not - maybe such a severely flawed woman rates only flawed biographies. I hope this is the last one about O'Hair; atheists deserve better than to be continually smeared by her taint.
Goes the Distance.......2005-10-20
There aren't many who live their last days in more sensational and mysterious circumstances than Madalyn Murray O'Hair and her family. It is amazing that there hasn't been more attention, although the reason is probably due to the length of time between their disappearance and the discovery of the bodies (as well as the criminal trials). The publicity was victimized by the drawn-out nature of the series of events. The public simply doesn't have an attention span that can accommodate a five year time-frame between events.
But it's now ten years later and all of the facts that we're probably ever going to know are on the table, so it's a great time for anyone curious about the details of the life and death of this tragic family to take an interest in the case.
This is a well-researched book. The author really goes the distance in providing a deep sketch of the Murrays. I found myself detesting them and, at the same time, feeling sorry for them, particularly the children, who seemed incapable of resisting her gravitational pull, and, consequently, never had lives of their own.
My feeling is that Madalyn was never as bad as she pretended to be, but neither was she as good as her supporters thought her. She played a role to two different audiences and pulled the wool over each.
Who's got the last laughter?.......2005-04-16
Madalyn Murray-O'Hair may not have been an easy woman to understand. Her forceful, often intolerant-seeming personality did not make a good case for herself in the media. Indeed, this book, (one of two having been published) proves how difficult it has been to reassess Mrs. O'Hair's legacy. Whether right or wrong, it is hard to pin-point just exactly where Mrs. O'Hair stopped being an idealist, someone who truly wanted to change society and right some of the wrongs she saw in American culture, and where personal opportunism and megalomania began. One thing is clear: Mrs. O'Hair had ideals! From what I've read about her (and I have most of her published books), she was ahead of her times; her intellect was eclectic, but her interpretations of ideas and current affairs often bordered on the brilliant. Unfortunately, her personality, accentuated by a bad public image, plus her personal life (her son, William Murray, went on to write a tell- all-Christian book) all worked, I think, against the message she tried to communicate.
Most leaders of the freethought movement have been relegated to a side note in history. Ironically, Mrs. O'Hair remains the best known atheist in the world.
As a biography, this book provides a much needed gap about the life of an American historical figure, especially her earlier life. Perhaps, American Atheists should publish a biography about their Founding Matriarch, a biography that will continue to further the dialogue about Mrs. O'Hair's legacy in American life and culture?
Product Description
An Atheist Epic tells the dramatic story of how fourteen-year-old William J. Muray III and his mother Madalyn Murray (later O'Hair) challenged the compulsory recitation of the Lord's Prayer and forced reading of the Christian Bible in the public schools of Baltimore. It tells of the beatings young Bill received with the approval of school authorities, police, and courts, and of the attacks on the Murray home instigated and led by good Christians -- attacks that led quite directly to the fatal heart attack suffered by Mrs. Murray's father. It describes the Christian execution of little Garth's kitten and the sorry demise of the two 'Atheist dogs' that Bill and Garth had as companions after loss of the kitten. Virtually all the religious atacks upon the First Amendment-mandated separation of state and church that America has endured since 1963 have been in retaliation to 'Murray v. Curlett' -- the case that Madalyn successfully took all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court to obtain the ruling that forced prayer and Bible reading were unconstitutional. The improbable series of events that led to that decision are painted here in colorful detail.
Average customer rating:
- The fall of christianity is close at hand.
- The fall of christianity is close at hand.
- She is the anti-Christ.
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All About Atheists (American Atheist Radio Series)
Madalyn Murray O'Hair
Manufacturer: Amer Atheist Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 General
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
Atheism
| Spirituality
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Theology
| Religious Studies
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0910309442 |
Customer Reviews:
The fall of christianity is close at hand........2000-10-02
This is by far, the single most informative and honest book on the Myth of christianity. It completly debunks all the Lies put forth in the bible and decisively demolishes the idiotic rhetoric that this farce of a belief structure portends to instil upon this society, our society....
The fall of christianity is close at hand........2000-10-02
This is by far, the single most informative and honest book on the Myth of christianity. It completly debunks all the Lies put forth in the bible and decisively demolishes the idiotic rhetoric that this farce of a belief structure portends to instil upon this society, our society. We need more people like Madalyn Murray O'Hair. Fight the Christian Reich.
She is the anti-Christ........2000-08-22
This woman hates everything, is bitter and for all intents and purposes is the anti-Christ. Ask Christ for forgiveness now Madelyn or spend an eternity in hell.
Customer Reviews:
A mind-blowing eye-opener.......2002-02-14
This is the uncensored account of Madalyn O'Hair and her family when the proverbial religious dung hit the fan. Her son, William announced to the world that he did not want to pray or be forced to pray because he was an Atheist. The things that some Christians did to this family in reprisal were downright criminal. The fact that they all survived is an inspiration to me and my Atheistic family. This book tells the inside story on what made that family tick during those trying and brutal years leading up to the 1963 Supreme Court decision of Murray Vs. Curlett.
If you've ever thought that Christianity was only about love and kindness, read this book. You'll never think about your god or your religion the same. Remember, it's all the truth, straight from the horse's mouth.
Joe Zamecki
Previous Reviewer Inspired Me!.......2000-01-05
Hey, any book that's "lies, lies, lies" yet still worthy of 5 stars is definitely worth checking out! (Have you noticed how many "true believers" can't seem to figure out how to give 1 star instead of 5 stars to books they don't like? Someone should write a book about that!)
LIES, LIES AND MORE LIES.......1999-02-10
A TERRIBLE BOOK THAT TRIES AMBITIUOSLY TO MAKE A VALID POINT ALOT OF CRA
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