Indeed, he's particularly good (if, of course brief) at championing those caught in the teeth of a political vicegrip, those inhabitants of partition, in Belfast, Cyprus, Palestine, Kashmir, or cold war Berlin, say.

Always ask who this 'we' is; as often as not it's an attempt to smuggle tribalism through the customs. The term "intellectual" was coined by those in France who believed in the guilt of Captain Alfred Dreyfus. I wish to learn the pressure points of conventional wisdom, so that I might subdue those who advocate it using only a bottle of absinthe and my thumbs. From his advice one should learn how and why to take a stand in both the heat of argument or the chill of general complacency and then instantly apply the techniques of open criticism to his own views.

If you want to stay in for the long haul, and lead a life that is free from illusions either propagated by you or embraced by you, then I suggest you learn to recognize and avoid the symptoms of the zealot and the person who knows he is right. Until this year I think it would be fair to state that I probably knew Hitchens more from his appearances on television (and subsequently on Youtube, the true source of my knowledge).

Zola could be the pattern for any serious and humanistic radical, because he not only asserted the inalienable rights of the individual, but generalised his assault to encompass the vile roles played by clericalism, racial hatred, militarism and the fetishisation of "the nation". History's least deserving Nobel Peace Prize recipient was forced to respond to Hitchens's proposal, and that alone could have made The Trial of Henry Kissinger the standout Hitchens text of the year.

Hitchens exhibits precisely the combination of indignation and intellect that he recommends to others. Who better to speak to that person who finds him or herself in a contrarian position than Hitchens, who has made a career of disagreeing in profound and entertaining ways. That is somewhat worse than a Big Brother state, because there could be no hope of its eventually passing away. I find it odd because I’ve not fallen in love with any of the books I’ve read so far but still find him so compelling. In my humble opinion, that is what the man would've desired to see in a young contrarian (feel free to disagree with me though).

Death hath wrought a pernicious dent in the erudite and intellectual world; Hitchens will not be one to be soon forgotten, nor ever replaced (but emulated, definitely). Which is to say, you can ignore those things you do not agree with and still benefit greatly from the more general reflections of a mind that is nothing if not uncompromising and devoted to personal freedom above all else. Let this be a voice in the back of your head whenever you, or someone else, describes someone, (or himself) first and foremost in terms of ‘racial identity’, or when ‘identity politics’ is brought up.I was particularly taken by the self-reflective and often humble tone of the book, as well as the beautiful simplicity and inescapable logic of the advice Hitchens offers on the subject of moral compromise and the temptation to “go along to get along”. I have to admit, and not without some degree of shame, that prior to picking up this book I had shunned the author for the most part as someone whose views diverged too sharply from my own to be of any interest to me. Although Hitchens is often the star of his own books, he is able to put himself to one side to concentrate on the subject. So I decided to try him again with the slimmest book possible, and though the series itself is one of those lower-third of the middle-est-brow possible, I kinda sorta mostly loved it. Hitchens certainly makes a plethora of valid and insightful points about the type of person he is (and the type of person we could do with a lot more of).

There is not even a strand of chewing gum to connect the premise to the conclusion; the speaker simply assumes what he has to prove. As such, the book lends itself well to anyone in such a position, be they a supporter of his views or not. Hitchens prompts this same thing in this wide-ranging, impeccably argued series of pseudo-epistolary treatises about what it means to be an independent thinker. That was very prescient of you, as the late master of melee most mouthful produced one such work, and now reaches out across time to steady you by your tender morsels, and shotgun, past your trembling lips, the hot second hand vapors of wisdom tirelessly sought. When such a precious and irreplaceable word as "irony" has become a lazy synonym for anomie, there is scant room for originality.There's probably no political commentary I enjoy reading (or watching, for that matter) more than that of Christopher Hitchens. I cannot say that I agree with all of the author's espoused views, but he doubtlessly anticipated some such differences of opinion. This book explores the entire range of "contrary positions"-from noble dissident to gratuitous pain in the butt. It encapsulates much of what was best about him: his opposition to bigotry, his turn of phrase, his humour, and his prescience. The word hasn't completely lost this association even now, though it is less frequently used as an insult.