I picked up a copy of 'The End of Faith' by Sam Harris at an airport bookstore several years ago. My first thought was "let's see what this atheist asshole has to say." Reading the book completely changed my views on religion and religious tolerance. More importantly, the experience encouraged me to be more proactive in seeking out opposing viewpoints.

After the Newtown shooting, his writing on Gun Control [1] and [2] were quite enlightening to me.

[1] http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/the-riddle-of-the-gun [2] http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/faq-on-violence

What happened to the parent? I know what it said, I'm just not sure why it got deleted...

HN doesn't like self promotion, maybe?