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Book Review: The Great Agnostic
The Great Agnostic: Robert Ingersoll and American Freethought by Susan Jacoby
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I first learned about the American politician, orator and ‘great agnostic’ Robert Ingersoll after reading a couple of books about American Freethinkers back in 2005 and 2006. I similarly enjoyed this biography about him, a book which now has many dog eared pages for particularly noteworthy quotes or passages. Among my favorites from Ingersoll is his creed,
Happiness is the only good.
The time to be happy is now.
The place to be happy is here.
The way to be happy is to make others so.
It’s opportune that I finished this book while near Peoria, I will try and pay a visit to his statue in Glen Oak Park while I’m here, and must later visit his resting place in Arlington National Cemetery. Robert, you have a standing invite to attend ‘Chris’ Afterlife Dream Party of Historical Figures’. I hope you’ll be there, oh wait… nevermind.
UPDATE: We made our visit to Glen Oak Park and paid homage to Ingersoll!
