Saturday, December 17, 2011

Christopher Hitchens, R.I.P.

Christopher Hitchens (1949-2011) might well have been the most prolific journalist, essayist, contrarian, atheist, provocateur, critic, polemicist, and all-around intellectual bad ass the world has seen.  My favorite quote about Hitch is from Richard Dawkins: “If you are invited to debate . . . with Christopher Hitchens, decline.  [He] would threaten your arguments even if you had good ones to deploy.”  A close second comes from Time Out New York: “True democracy could not exist without Christopher Hitchens and his ilk.”  The Dog highly recommends Hitch’s essays on Slate, Vanity Fair, and The Atlantic, as well as many of his books, including my favorite, Letters to a Young Contrarian.  

R.I.P., Hitch.

1 comment:

  1. You are right to pay tribute to the life and work of this intellectual giant, Michael, and to direct others toward the writings he left behind. Thank you. There is so very much hard work left for someone else to do, now that Hitchens has died. Timo.

    ReplyDelete