God

In this New York Times bestseller, Reza Aslan, the acclaimed author of Zealot, turns his attention to an even grander subject: God, writ large. With accessible scholarship and layered prose, Aslan traces humanity's long quest to make sense of the divine by giving it human traits and emotions. He argues that this impulse to humanize God is hardwired in our brains, shaping nearly every religious tradition—and carrying consequences, as we project onto God both our compassion and our greed, bigotry, and violence. Whether you believe in one God, many gods, or no god at all, this concise and fascinating history will challenge how you think about the divine and its role in everyday life.

Why You Should Read?

• Explores how humans across traditions have projected human qualities onto the divine, from compassion to violence.
• Offers a concise, readable history of religion grounded in thoughtful, accessible scholarship.
• Invites readers of all beliefs—or none—into a more universal spirituality.
• Comes from the bestselling author of Zealot, praised as a born storyteller by critics.

About the Author

Reza Aslan is an Iranian-American scholar of religions and writer best known for the New York Times bestseller Zealot, a provocative reimagining of Jesus of Nazareth. His work blends rigorous historical scholarship with vivid storytelling, examining religion, faith, and culture for a broad audience. In God: A Human History, he brings the same curiosity and narrative grace to humanity's understanding of the divine itself.