From the larger, louder half of the world-famous magic duo Penn & Teller comes a scathingly funny reinterpretation of The Ten Commandments. They are The Penn Commandments, and they reveal one outrageous and opinionated atheist’s experience in the world.
In this rollicking yet honest account of a godless existence, Penn takes listeners on a roller coaster of exploration and flips conventional religious wisdom on its ear to reveal that doubt, skepticism, and wonder—all signs of a general feeling of disbelief—are to be celebrated and cherished, rather than suppressed. And he tells some pretty damn funny stories along the way.
From performing blockbuster shows on the Vegas Strip to the adventures of fatherhood, from an ongoing dialogue with proselytizers of the Christian Right to the joys of sex while scuba diving, Jillette’s self-created Decalogue invites his listener on a journey of discovery that is equal parts wise and wisecracking.
“People who say that libertarians have no heart or atheists have no soul need to read this book. Because Penn Jillette has a lot of both.” —Matt Stone and Trey Parker, creators of South Park and the award-winning Broadway musical The Book of Mormon
“There are few people in the country who question more boldly, brashly, and bravely than my friend Penn Jillette. This book is funny, provocative, and profane. But is it right? God, no!” —Glenn Beck
“This planet has yielded exactly one mutual friend for Glenn Beck and me and that friend has written a brilliant book called God, No! Penn reveals ‘the big secret of magic,’ tells you why tattoos are perfect expressions of atheism and exactly what to eat when you know you’re going to vomit later.” -Lawrence O’Donnell
“Penn Jillette is a twenty-first-century Lord of Misrule: big, boisterously anarchic, funny, Rabelaisian, impossible—and unique. There isn’t—couldn’t be—better not be—anybody like him.” —Richard Dawkins, bestselling author of The Greatest Show on Earth and The God Delusion
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"Penn Jillette had me laughing and nodding and sometimes wanting to hit him over the head! I especially enjoyed how Jillette's human decency shone through this book, even amid all the expletives. This man has a big heart, and a big intellect, and an astonishing set of magic tricks, even on the page."
— Mary (4 out of 5 stars)
" Interesting anecdotal compilation. Compelling arguments about why one should become athiest. "
— Deshaine, 2/20/2014" Penn Jillette...need I say more? "
— Brent, 2/18/2014" I laughed, cried, got angry, and nodded my head in agreement at various points while listening to this audiobook. I also fell asleep more often than I should admit, but I blame that on the drugs as I recover from surgery. Penn, in his typical brash style, narrates a book that is half autobiography and half "introductory guide" to atheism. I don't agree with everything he wrote, but that's what makes a non-fiction book interesting, no? "
— terpkristin, 2/18/2014" Let me start by saying I was a more of a fan then hater before the book, now I'm about even. Did you know Penn is friends with Joe Rogan? You'd think this book would be about atheism and penn's thought on it along with some stories from penn. I hope you realize that Penn and Howard Stern have a good background together, they have sleepovers! It's mostly outlandish and questionable stories about his sexual life that you have to challenge (he makes himself seem like an '80 tommy lee), his non-stop namedropping (briefly he states how he doesn't like namedroppers ironically), and his weekend events. Penn and one of the guys from ZZ Top are best buds, just fyi. The book is about 90% story and 10% true atheist talk (aka, atheism as a backdrop or sidenote not counted, only when he talks about atheism and his thoughts and views). Penn and Glenn Beck talk often, Glenn is such a sweet guy. This is not a book about atheism, but rather a sort of snip and paste of stories penn likes to boast about. It's 24 dollars of toilet paper to me. I like penn, but this book 250+ pages of him telling you how rich he is and how many famous friends he has. Oh, and he mentions something about atheism, but thats not the point here. Did you know Penn dated a supermodel who is amazing looking and is a freak in the sack? Now that's something to put in a book! Oh, wait, what do we have here! "
— Brian, 2/5/2014" Meh, I agree with him on some things, disagree with him on others but overall am finding the book a boring read and don't think I can bear to read him referencing another "fuck buddy" again, so I'm putting it down about 2/3rds of the way through it. "
— Gina, 2/2/2014" I really enjoyed the sections of the book that actually pertained to the subjects of religion and politics. However, that only accounted for about 30% of the book. The rest was filled with random stories, most of an explicit and sexual nature. Personally, I think Jillette should have written two books. One to match the title of this book and another for his ramblings. "
— Kelly, 1/31/2014" Really enjoyed this book. He's a funny guy. Loved the chapter about "why i'm a libertarian." "
— John, 1/12/2014" A little bit of crude can add to the humour. A lot of crude is rather boring and not particularly funny. "
— Mel, 12/18/2013" great book i enjoyed the book a lot. Penn Jillette is a amazing writer and is neat person to meet "
— Nicholas, 12/11/2013" Oh, Mr. Jillette you are very, very amusing, but also crude, crass, and just down right obscene! I enjoy your wicked sense of humor, but a whole book was a bit too much. I really didn't need to know what you did with that hair dryer (even if I was laughing the whole time). "
— Cj, 12/4/2013" This book is obscene, rambling, self-indulgent, and hardly about atheism at all. And I liked it. "
— Steve, 11/4/2013" Somewhat rambling and random but overall entertaining. A bit on the short side so if you can get a copy for less than $10, it's probably worth it. Otherwise, meh. "
— Marcus, 10/29/2013" I now know more about Penn Jillette's sex life than I am comfortable knowing. Penn is like a human South Park episode, occasionally brilliant, frequently incoherent, and obsessed with scatological humor on a level that most people get over by the age of 17. "
— Keith, 10/17/2013" Funny and really poignant. His anecdotes are priceless and I found this a good book even if you're not an atheist. "
— John, 9/5/2013" I'm waffling between 3 and 4 stars. I really liked some of the essays, but my interest waned as he talked about all the cool people he knows and libertarianism. "
— Stephanie, 8/11/2013" I am not an Atheist I'm a proud Methodist. The magic of this book is that you don't have to be one or want to become one to enjoy this book. Mr. Jillette may not have changed my religious beliefs but he has crafted a humorous and touching book that will make you laugh and cry. I loved it! "
— Steven, 7/25/2013" This was utterly hilarious. Penn is a total asshole and thats probably why i like him so much. He tells it like it is and i don't know how i didn'T PEE ON MYSELF? "
— Nicole, 7/15/2013" Penn is a funny guy with a good sense of a story, and a clear view on how he thinks the world is and should be (without being mean about it). "
— Karl, 5/5/2013" Skipped around, just reading parts. A lot of repetition. "
— Dick, 2/19/2013" This was pretty much a "highlights of Penn's wacky life." I was kind of disappointed. It really boiled down to him saying "Look how very zany I am! Isn't it zany - the things I do?" He makes the point of his book in the first few pages and moves on to talk about weird events in his life. "
— Jason, 1/2/2013" Good fun! This guy is awesome. Gotta run and see their show in Vegas. "
— Rick, 9/30/2012" Sometimes this book got a little off track of the atheism subject--but I really didn't care. This guy is funny and he looks at the world in a most unusual hysterical way! "
— Marilyn, 7/29/2012" I agreed with parts of this book and disagreed with others. Found the last few chapters were more ranting than informative. Glad I read it but wouldn't read it again "
— Lolly, 6/7/2012" You might want to grab the audio book as Penn's self-confessed rambling is somehow more sufferable in spoken word, but the zany, incredible stories contained in his wandering thoughts more than make-up for the book's lack of cohesion.<br/><br/>'s'a good time. Read it--er, listen, anyway. "
— Warner, 11/5/2011" I enjoyed the stories, but on the whole it was a rambling mess. I like Penn's "voice" and I find his ideas interesting. I think that he weds a little more self control when it comes to the writing to stay on point and focused. "
— Michael, 11/3/2011" Very rarely give five stars, but when a book can make me laugh out loud one minute, and cry the next, its five stars for me! "
— Annette, 10/30/2011" Funny stuff. I am not sure that I agree with everything he says, but I am with him, at least, on the title of this book. One of the things he says that I agree with the most is his answer of "I don't know" when we don't really know. If there is any wisdom in this book, that is it. "
— David, 10/24/2011" Clearly, there was no god looking out for the author during most of these anecdotes, be they funny or sad. This book undoubtedly wins the Oscar for Most Printed Fucks... and (straight line for Mr. Jillette, here) I still wish it was longer. "
— John, 10/19/2011" This is a fantastic collection of anecdotes that Jillette correlates with each of the Ten Commandments. A few will make you chuckle, a few are cringe worthy (in a good way) and there is one near the end involving a blow dryer that stole the breath from my lungs. "
— Earl, 10/16/2011" Skipped around, just reading parts. A lot of repetition. "
— Dick, 10/15/2011" Listen to the audio version read by Jillette. Perfect for audio. Rambling, lacks cohesion, but always entertaining. Agree with about 70 percent of him. Think he would be great to hang out with, but I would eventually want to hit him. But he is like six foot seven, so I wouldn't.<br/> "
— Erik, 10/12/2011" Entertaining book written in an easy to read style. Not a deep read. "
— Kevin, 10/11/2011Penn Jillette has been one half of the Emmy Award–winning, world-famous magic duo Penn & Teller for more than thirty-five years. He is the author of God, No! and the novel Sock, as well as several books cowritten with Teller. He lives with his family in Las Vegas.