Christopher Hitchens was born April 13, 1949, in England and graduated from Balliol College at Oxford University. The father of three children, he was the author of more than twenty books and pamphlets, including collections of essays, criticism, and reportage. His book God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything was a finalist for the 2007 National Book Award and an international bestseller. His bestselling memoir, Hitch-22, was a finalist for the 2010 National Book Critics Circle Award for autobiography. The New York Times named his bestselling omnibus Arguably one of the ten best books of the year. A visiting professor of liberal studies at the New School in New York City, he was also the I.F. Stone professor at the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley. He was a columnist, literary critic, and contributing editor at Vanity Fair, The Atlantic, Slate, The Times Literary Supplement, The Nation, New Statesman, World Affairs, and Free Inquiry, among other publications. Following his death, Yoko Ono awarded him the Lennon-Ono Grant for Peace.
Praise for And Yet...
"Christopher Hitchens is sorely missed, And Yet..., reading his new
book - a bounty of famous scalps, thunder-blasted targets, and a
few love letters - is such a powerful reminder of the late V.F.
contributing editor and notorious provocateur in chief's erudite
and scathing assessments of American culture, it's almost as if
he's here."
-- Vanity Fair
Praise for Christopher Hitchens: "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 "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
"A rare blend of elements: the buoyant and the serious, the
streetwise and the learned, the crude joking of the pub and 'the
cut glass Oxford tones' of civilized debate."
--David Castronovo, Commonweal
"A very good new collection... The best reason to read AND YET...
may be its inclusion of a three-part essay, 'On the Limits of
Self-Improvement, ' that Mr. Hitchens wrote for Vanity Fair about
trying to get himself in shape. It is as hilarious as it is wise,
and I predict it will be published before long as its own
pocket-size book... The moment when Mr. Hitchens undergoes the male
version of a Brazilian bikini wax... has yet to be recognized, but
surely will be, as among the funniest passages in this country's
literature."
--The New York Times
"Arguably the best--and certainly the most prolific--essayist
Britain has produced since George Orwell."
--Andrew Anthony, The Observer
"In this volume one is given a model of how to be a thoughtful
journalist. Today, four years after his death, Hitchens is
correctly seen as a writer who was unafraid to swim against the
tide, even to the point of being politically incorrect... All in
all, another great book of essays from a writer who we wish were
still alive to produce more copy."
--National Review
"Just as with rock bands that seem to have done more farewell tours
than pre-farewell performances, there's probably more in the
vault--but in this case, that's a very good thing indeed."
-- Kirkus Reviews
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