a corrupting influence on Greek and Roman culture. Freeman writes fluently and summarizes his various authorities more or less accurately, but his argumentation is superficial. To assert, as he does in his Introduction, that Christian orthodoxy stifled independent reasoning would imply that Socrates had not been tried for impiety in the golden age of Athens or that books had not been burned in the reign of Augustus.” References External links The Closing of the Western Mind by Charles Freeman, a critical review by James Hannam (God's Philosophers), 2009. Review in The Independent Review in The New York Times 2003 non-fiction books Books about atheism Books critical of Christianity Books critical of religion Contemporary philosophical literature