I went through my phase of militant scientism back when I was in my 20's and early 30's, first as a convinced atheist leftist, and then as a convinced atheist scientist. Back then I loved to read books and articles by Stephen Jay Gould, Carl Sagan, Isaac Asimov, Martin Gardner and James Randi.Asimov died in '92, then Sagan in '96, then Gould in 2002, and now Gardner has left us in 2010. It is fitting that as the news of Gardner's death is spreading, many people are referring to the beautiful, heartfelt remembrance of him that has been written by Gardner's friend and comrade in arms, James Randi, under the title "My World Is A Little Darker."
I parted company with the atheist activist crowd long ago. But I am sorry to see the "old" atheists go (and in truth they are not all strict atheists), because they were intelligent, humorous and always interesting.