This intellectual history of a rumored book of heresy reveals a persistent undercurrent of atheism from the Middle Ages into the 18th century.

In 1239, Pope Gregory IX accused Frederick II, the Holy Roman Emperor, of heresy. Without disclosing evidence of any kind, Gregory announced that Frederick had written a supremely blasphemous book -- De tribus impostoribus, or the Treatise of the Three Impostors -- in which Frederick denounced Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad as impostors. Of course, Frederick denied the charge, and over the following centuries the story played out across Europe, with libertines, freethinkers, and other "strong minds" seeking a copy of the scandalous text. The fascination persisted until finally, in the eighteenth century, someone brought the purported work into actual existence -- in not one but two versions, Latin and French.

Although historians have debated the origins and influences of this most apocryphal book, there has not been a comprehensive biography of the Treatise of the Three Impostors. In The Atheist's Bible, historian Georges Minois tracks the course of the book from its origins in 1239 to its most salient episodes in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, introducing readers to the colorful individuals obsessed with possessing the legendary work -- and the equally obsessive passion of those who wanted to punish people who sought it. Minois's compelling account sheds much-needed light on the power of atheism, the threat of blasphemy, and the persistence of free thought during a time when the outspoken risked being burned at the stake.

"[A] timely and elegant study... Readers who are intrigued or scandalized by the diatribes of Richard Dawkins or Christopher Hitchens will discover in The Atheist's Bible that, as that other Bible says, there is nothing new under the sun." -- Walter Stephens, author of Demon Lovers

• We started tracking this book on December 8, 2012.
• This book was $9.90 when we started tracking it.
• The price of this book has changed 142 times in the past 4,445 days.
• The current price of this book is $2.99 last checked 15 hours ago.
• This book is at its lowest price in the past year.
• The lowest price to date was $1.99 last reached on April 1, 2023.
• This book has been $1.99 5 times since we started tracking it.
• The highest price to date was $30.00 last reached on March 21, 2018.
• This book has been $30.00 6 times since we started tracking it.

• Religion & Spirituality

• Text-to-Speech: Disabled
• Lending: Disabled
• Print Length: 334 Pages
• File Size: 5,804 KB