Pierre Bayle (1647-1706), the first and arguably the greatest of the modern historians of philosophy, called Spinoza ‘the greatest atheist that ever was’. In his succinct and elegant new book, Spinoza, Atheist (Princeton University Press), Nadler fills in the historical and biographical context, parses the relevant definitions, and performs the necessary philosophical analysis. Along the way—precisely because atheism is so central to Spinoza’s project—he supplies an admirable introduction to the philosopher’s work. Spinoza’s work is, most fundamentally, an effort to elucidate an ethics for those who have embraced a philosophical way of life. Here I will quibble with Nadler, who wants to take Toland at his word (at least where his word contradicts Spinoza).