christopher hitchens Archives

Mortality

Christopher "Courageous"... Author: Christopher Hitchens What do you do when you know that you probably only have a year or two to live? If you’re Christopher Hitchens, you just keep writing. The award winning author, atheist and provocateur was diagnosed with advanced esophageal cancer in June 2010 and eventually succumbed in December 2011, but he kept writing the whole time. Mortality is a compilation of the Vanity Fair columns he wrote about his harrowing journey through the world of cancer. I’ve admired Hitchens’ writing before – on atheism, history and current events – and while this work delves into weightier [...]

Thomas Jefferson

Man of Many Dichotomies... Author: Christopher Hitchens He’s one of the most important people in the history of the United States and lived to the ripe old age of 83. How do you write a petite 188 page biography of the man that is meaningful and avoids superficiality? Concision is the word you’re looking for and Christopher Hitchens displays his mastery of the concept in Thomas Jefferson (2005). Part of the Eminent Lives series, Hitchens tells the story of the 3rd US president, focusing primarily on his political life. He discusses Jefferson’s role as US Minister to France and Secretary [...]