Reddit reviews Arguably: Essays by Christopher Hitchens

One of the great investigative journalists, writers and speakers of the 20th and 21st centuries. I recommend having a ready of his books of essays, e.g. Arguably.

He spent a massive amount of time actually on the ground in places like Kurdistan, Iraq, Cuba (immediately post-revolution, leading in great part - along with the writing of Orwell and various dissidents - to his disenchantment with communism), and so many other places. He was also tremendously well-read and well-informed, as you'll see when reading his essays.

He was a leftist who despised the Clintons for their conduct (his book: No One Left to Lie To) but unfortunately died before this last election - his writing on Trump would've been gold, as would his struggle over the lesser of two evils. He was not afraid to break with the left on different issues, e.g. Iraq, because he'd spent so much time on the ground in Iraq and Kurdistan and had done so much research into things there, and he was greatly disappointed in the post-war rebuilding efforts that followed the removal of Saddam Hussein, but he was in Iraq at different times to see and celebrate progress where it happened (e.g. elections).

He read every word George Orwell wrote (that's available, even later-found letters and diaries). He was basically against dictators and despots everywhere.

In later times he was famous for speaking out against religion, especially where it was also despotic. This is what most people on the internet seem to know him for (hence the often vociferous attacks against him), but this was a small part of his career over his lifetime.

Really, you do yourself a great service by reading his books of essays, very few of which are about religion but most of which are very, very interesting. My father is a conservative Christian, yet he greatly enjoys reading Hitchens' essays!

From the UK deputy PM at the time of Hitchens' death:

>One unexpected tribute came from deputy prime minister Nick Clegg, who worked as an intern for Hitchens years ago. Hitchens was, he said, "everything a great essayist should be: infuriating, brilliant, highly provocative and yet intensely serious".

>"My job was to fact check his articles. Since he had a photographic memory and an encyclopaedic mind it was the easiest job I've ever done," said Clegg. "He will be massively missed by everyone who values strong opinions and great writing".

I feel your pain, I have a paperback of Arguably so this won't work :(

Collected Writings of Thomas Paine, On the Geneology of Morals, Prejudices: The Complete Series, and Arguably

Got any book recommendations? Post them here.

here's mine - Arguably: Essays by Christopher Hitchens.

Despite being a gasp liberal, he was also somewhat of a conservative, and able to see through a lot of the garbage on the left and right.

Hell of an essay writer.

While I don't share your enthusiasm for The Singularity, perhaps you'd like:

Extra-Terrestrial Liberty an Enquiry Into the Nature and Causes of Tyrannical Government Beyond the Earth by Charles S. Cockell

or maybe

Arguably Essays by Hitchens