Christopher Hitchens was a contributing editor to Vanity Fair, Slate, and the Atlantic, and the author of numerous books, including works on Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, and George Orwell. He also wrote the international bestsellers god Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, Hitch-22: A Memoir, and Arguably. He died in December 2011.
"Anyone who occasionally opens one of our more serious periodicals
has learned that the byline of Christopher Hitchens is an
opportunity to be delighted or maddened-possibly both-but in any
case not to be missed....His range is extraordinary, both in
breadth and altitude. He is as self-confident on the politics of
Lebanon as on the ontology of the Harry Potter books....I still
find Hitchens one of the most stimulating thinkers and entertaining
we have, even when-perhaps especially when-he provokes."--Bill
Keller, New York Times Book Review
"Christopher Hitchens's selected essays are Arguably (Twelve) his
finest to date."--Vanity Fair
"One reads him [Hitchens] despite his reputation as someone who
wants to drink, argue, and tear the ornaments off the tree, because
he is, first and last, a writer, an always exciting, often
exacting, furious polemicist. This fact, the most salient thing
about him, often gets neglected in the public jousting. Arguably,
Hitchens's new collection, forcefully proves this point. Consisting
of three kinds of writing - literary journalism, political
commentary, and cultural complaint - Arguably offers a panoramic if
somewhat jaundiced view of the last decade or so of cultural and
political history."--The Boston Globe
"Opinions are to Christopher Hitchens what oil is to Saudi Arabia.
This collection, featuring his liveliest, funniest and most
infamous essays....There is a time for the balanced, even-handed
and sober approach - but why bother with any of that when you could
be reading someone as provocative and impish as Hitchens?"--The New
York Post
"The essays in 'Arguably' remind us of other dimensions to this
singular writer and thinker that are sometimes overshadowed by the
range of his political commentary. Though there are plenty of
essays on politics to be found here, the book also treats us to
other arrows in Hitchens' proverbial quiver, including his bracing,
exhilarating approach to important literary figures...Its value is
clear and needs no justification. And since his diagnosis of
esophageal cancer last year, opportunities to hear him,
understandably, have been fewer. Which is another thing 'Arguably'
inadvertently addresses - for in reading this collection of his
thoughts, immersing yourself in the particular turns of phrase and
associations of Hitchens' wit, you suddenly realize something else:
You're hearing his voice again."--Nick Owchar, Los Angeles Times
How does one possibly narrate the essays of Christopher Hitchens while capturing the author's furious-and perhaps occasionally misguided-intensity and vigor? For this capacious collection of Hitchens's essays, narrator Simon Prebble wisely avoids that dilemma. Instead, he offers a dry, slightly formal delivery. Covering everything from Charles Dickens and J.G. Ballard to the recent financial crisis and global jihad, Hitchens mingles the literary with the political, using his erudition to hone arguments to a carefully wielded point. Prebble's controlled narration works to tone down some of Hitchens's force-the narrator simply poses arguments without bludgeoning the author's opponents-much to the benefit of this audio production. The sound is turned down, leaving Hitchens's ideas to come to the fore. A Hachette/Twelve hardcover. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
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