-
Arguably: Essays by Christopher Hitchens
- Narrated by: Simon Prebble
- Length: 28 hrs and 22 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $35.09
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Publisher's summary
The first new collection of essays by Christopher Hitchens since 2004, Arguably offers an indispensable key to understanding the passionate and skeptical spirit of one of our most dazzling writers, widely admired for the clarity of his style, a result of his disciplined and candid thinking. Topics range from ruminations on why Charles Dickens was among the best of writers and the worst of men to the haunting science fiction of J.G. Ballard; from the enduring legacies of Thomas Jefferson and George Orwell to the persistent agonies of anti-Semitism and jihad.
Hitchens even looks at the recent financial crisis and argues for the enduring relevance of Karl Marx. The book forms a bridge between the two parallel enterprises of culture and politics. It reveals how politics justifies itself by culture, and how the latter prompts the former. In this fashion, Arguably burnishes Christopher Hitchens' credentials as - to quote Christopher Buckley - our "greatest living essayist in the English language."
Related to this topic
-
Cultural Amnesia
- Notes in the Margin of My Time
- By: Clive James
- Narrated by: Clive James
- Length: 6 hrs and 16 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From Anna Akhmatova to Stefan Zweig, via Charles de Gaulle, Hitler, Thomas Mann and Charlie Chaplin, this varied and unfailingly absorbing book is both story and history, both public memoir and personal record - and provides an essential field-guide to the vast movements of taste, intellect, politics and delusion that helped to prepare the times we live in now.
-
-
Very enjoyable and well narrated
- By Larbi on 05-18-08
By: Clive James
-
Making History
- The Storytellers Who Shaped the Past
- By: Richard Cohen
- Narrated by: Richard Cohen
- Length: 26 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There are many stories we can spin about previous ages, but which accounts get told? And by whom? Is there even such a thing as “objective” history? In this “witty, wise, and elegant” (The Spectator), book, Richard Cohen reveals how professional historians and other equally significant witnesses, such as the writers of the Bible, novelists, and political propagandists, influence what becomes the accepted record. Cohen argues, for example, that some historians are practitioners of “Bad History” and twist reality to glorify themselves or their country.
-
-
Missing 20 pages from book
- By Rick, Austin on 04-23-22
By: Richard Cohen
-
Practicing History
- Selected Essays
- By: Barbara W. Tuchman
- Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon
- Length: 12 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Master historian Barbara W. Tuchman looks at history in a unique way and draws lessons from what she sees. This accessible introduction to the subject of history offers striking insights into America's past and present, trenchant observations on the international scene, and thoughtful pieces on the historian's role. Here is a splendid body of work, the story of a lifetime spent "practicing history".
-
-
Barbara Tuchman fan faced with reality
- By J. Whittle on 09-27-18
-
Looking for the Good War
- American Amnesia and the Violent Pursuit of Happiness
- By: Elizabeth D. Samet
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 14 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Looking for the Good War, Elizabeth D. Samet reexamines the literature, art, and culture that emerged after World War II, bringing her expertise as a professor of English at West Point to bear on the complexity of the postwar period in national life. She exposes the confusion about American identity that was expressed during and immediately after the war, and the deep national ambivalence toward war, violence, and veterans - all of which were suppressed in subsequent decades by a dangerously sentimental attitude toward the United States' "exceptional" history and destiny.
-
-
Essential reading for military officers and political decision makers.
- By Arlene S. Burke on 02-23-22
-
The Long March
- How the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s Changed America
- By: Roger Kimball
- Narrated by: Raymond Todd
- Length: 9 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The architects of America's cultural revolution of the 1960s were Beat authors like Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac, and celebrated figures like Norman Mailer, Timothy Leary, Eldridge Cleaver, and Susan Sontag. In examining the lives and works of those who spoke for the 1960s, Roger Kimball conceives a series of cautionary tales, an annotated guidebook of wrong turns, dead-ends, and blind alleys.
-
-
The Long March
- By Suzanne on 05-16-06
By: Roger Kimball
-
Reappraisals
- Reflections on the Forgotten 20th Century
- By: Tony Judt
- Narrated by: James Adams
- Length: 16 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The accelerating changes of the past generation have been accompanied by a similarly accelerated amnesia. The 20th century has become "history" at an unprecedented rate. The world of 2007 was so utterly unlike that of even 1987, much less any earlier time, that we have lost touch with our immediate past even before we have begun to make sense of it - and the results are proving calamitous.
-
-
Superb. Insightful essays, Performance to match
- By Louis on 05-02-12
By: Tony Judt
-
Cultural Amnesia
- Notes in the Margin of My Time
- By: Clive James
- Narrated by: Clive James
- Length: 6 hrs and 16 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From Anna Akhmatova to Stefan Zweig, via Charles de Gaulle, Hitler, Thomas Mann and Charlie Chaplin, this varied and unfailingly absorbing book is both story and history, both public memoir and personal record - and provides an essential field-guide to the vast movements of taste, intellect, politics and delusion that helped to prepare the times we live in now.
-
-
Very enjoyable and well narrated
- By Larbi on 05-18-08
By: Clive James
-
Making History
- The Storytellers Who Shaped the Past
- By: Richard Cohen
- Narrated by: Richard Cohen
- Length: 26 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There are many stories we can spin about previous ages, but which accounts get told? And by whom? Is there even such a thing as “objective” history? In this “witty, wise, and elegant” (The Spectator), book, Richard Cohen reveals how professional historians and other equally significant witnesses, such as the writers of the Bible, novelists, and political propagandists, influence what becomes the accepted record. Cohen argues, for example, that some historians are practitioners of “Bad History” and twist reality to glorify themselves or their country.
-
-
Missing 20 pages from book
- By Rick, Austin on 04-23-22
By: Richard Cohen
-
Practicing History
- Selected Essays
- By: Barbara W. Tuchman
- Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon
- Length: 12 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Master historian Barbara W. Tuchman looks at history in a unique way and draws lessons from what she sees. This accessible introduction to the subject of history offers striking insights into America's past and present, trenchant observations on the international scene, and thoughtful pieces on the historian's role. Here is a splendid body of work, the story of a lifetime spent "practicing history".
-
-
Barbara Tuchman fan faced with reality
- By J. Whittle on 09-27-18
-
Looking for the Good War
- American Amnesia and the Violent Pursuit of Happiness
- By: Elizabeth D. Samet
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 14 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Looking for the Good War, Elizabeth D. Samet reexamines the literature, art, and culture that emerged after World War II, bringing her expertise as a professor of English at West Point to bear on the complexity of the postwar period in national life. She exposes the confusion about American identity that was expressed during and immediately after the war, and the deep national ambivalence toward war, violence, and veterans - all of which were suppressed in subsequent decades by a dangerously sentimental attitude toward the United States' "exceptional" history and destiny.
-
-
Essential reading for military officers and political decision makers.
- By Arlene S. Burke on 02-23-22
-
The Long March
- How the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s Changed America
- By: Roger Kimball
- Narrated by: Raymond Todd
- Length: 9 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The architects of America's cultural revolution of the 1960s were Beat authors like Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac, and celebrated figures like Norman Mailer, Timothy Leary, Eldridge Cleaver, and Susan Sontag. In examining the lives and works of those who spoke for the 1960s, Roger Kimball conceives a series of cautionary tales, an annotated guidebook of wrong turns, dead-ends, and blind alleys.
-
-
The Long March
- By Suzanne on 05-16-06
By: Roger Kimball
-
Reappraisals
- Reflections on the Forgotten 20th Century
- By: Tony Judt
- Narrated by: James Adams
- Length: 16 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The accelerating changes of the past generation have been accompanied by a similarly accelerated amnesia. The 20th century has become "history" at an unprecedented rate. The world of 2007 was so utterly unlike that of even 1987, much less any earlier time, that we have lost touch with our immediate past even before we have begun to make sense of it - and the results are proving calamitous.
-
-
Superb. Insightful essays, Performance to match
- By Louis on 05-02-12
By: Tony Judt
-
Existentialism and Excess
- The Life and Times of Jean-Paul Sartre
- By: Gary Cox
- Narrated by: Matt Addis
- Length: 8 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jean-Paul Sartre is one of the undisputed giants of 20th-century philosophy. His intellectual writings popularizing existentialism, combined with his creative and artistic flair, have made him a legend of French thought. His tumultuous personal life - so inextricably bound up with his philosophical thinking - is a fascinating tale of love and lust, drug abuse, high-profile fallings-out and political and cultural rebellion.
-
-
a capitalista biography of Sartre
- By Anonymous User on 01-24-20
By: Gary Cox
-
The Novel of the Century
- The Extraordinary Adventure of Les Misérables
- By: David Bellos
- Narrated by: David Bellos
- Length: 12 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Putting a century of scholarship on one of the world's most enduring popular novels into accessible, narrative form, this new approach to a classic of world literature is written for a wide general audience. Packed full of information about the book's origins and later career on stage and screen, The Novel of the Century brings to life the extraordinary story of how Victor Hugo managed to write his novel of the downtrodden despite a revolution, a coup d'etat, and political exile.
-
-
how hard to write a book
- By James Grohs on 08-06-24
By: David Bellos
-
Embracing Defeat
- By: John W. Dower
- Narrated by: Edward Lewis
- Length: 21 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This illuminating study explores the ways in which the shattering defeat of the Japanese in World War II, followed by over six years of American military occupation, affected every level of Japanese society. The author describes the countless ways in which the Japanese met the challenge of "starting over", from top-level manipulations concerning the fate of Emperor Hirohito to the hopes, fears, and activities of ordinary men and women in every walk of life.
-
-
Pulitzer Prize Winner!
- By KF on 10-09-07
By: John W. Dower
-
At the Existentialist Café
- Freedom, Being, and Apricot Cocktails
- By: Sarah Bakewell
- Narrated by: Antonia Beamish
- Length: 14 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Paris, 1933: Three contemporaries meet over apricot cocktails at the Bec-de-Gaz bar on the rue Montparnasse. They are the young Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, and longtime friend Raymond Aron, a fellow philosopher who raves to them about a new conceptual framework from Berlin called phenomenology. "You see," he says, "if you are a phenomenologist, you can talk about this cocktail and make philosophy out of it!"
-
-
Consistent look at incoherent philosophy
- By Gary on 06-19-16
By: Sarah Bakewell
-
The Republic of Imagination
- America in Three Books
- By: Azar Nafisi
- Narrated by: Mozhan Marnò
- Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Blending memoir and polemic with close readings of her favorite novels, she describes the unexpected journey that led her to become an American citizen after first dreaming of America as a young girl in Tehran and coming to know the country through its fiction. She urges us to rediscover the America of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and challenges us to be truer to the words and spirit of the Founding Fathers, who understood that their democratic experiment would never thrive or survive unless they could foster a democratic imagination.
-
-
Love
- By Rebecca on 05-29-16
By: Azar Nafisi
-
Angels and Ages
- A Short Book About Darwin, Lincoln, and Modern Life
- By: Adam Gopnik
- Narrated by: Adam Gopnik
- Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Written 200 years after Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln shared a birthday on February 12, 1809, this insightful account sheds new light on two men who changed the way we think about the meaning of life and death. Award-winning journalist Adam Gopnik's unique perspective, combined with previously unexplored stories and figures, reveals two men planted firmly at the roots of modern views and liberal values.
-
-
Connecting Darwin and Lincoln
- By Joshua Kim on 06-10-12
By: Adam Gopnik
-
Heroes
- From Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar to Churchill and de Gaulle
- By: Paul Johnson
- Narrated by: James Adams
- Length: 11 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this enlightening and entertaining work, Johnson presents heroism through examples in history. From Alexander to Joan of Arc and George Washington to Marilyn Monroe, here are men and women from every age and corner of the world who have inspired and transformed their cultures and the world itself.
-
-
Interesting, but deeply flawed
- By Kennet on 12-27-07
By: Paul Johnson
-
The War on the West
- By: Douglas Murray
- Narrated by: Douglas Murray
- Length: 12 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The War on the West, Douglas Murray shows how many well-meaning people have been fooled by hypocritical and inconsistent anti-West rhetoric. After all, if we must discard the ideas of Kant, Hume, and Mill for their opinions on race, shouldn’t we discard Marx, whose work is peppered with racial slurs and anti-Semitism? Embers of racism remain to be stamped out in America, but what about the raging racist inferno in the Middle East and Asia?
-
-
Every Human (seriously, everyone) Read This!
- By aaron on 04-27-22
By: Douglas Murray
-
The Man Who Invented Fiction
- How Cervantes Ushered in the Modern World
- By: William Egginton
- Narrated by: Michael Butler Murray
- Length: 8 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the early 17th century, a crippled, graying, almost toothless veteran of Spain's wars against the Ottoman Empire published a novel. It was the story of a poor nobleman, his brain addled from studying too many novels of chivalry, who deludes himself that he is a knight errant and sets off on hilarious adventures. That story, Don Quixote, went on to sell more copies than any other book beside the Bible, making its author, Miguel de Cervantes, the single most-read author in human history.
-
-
Very Interesting and Informative, but Poorly Read
- By LCorSMT on 06-21-23
By: William Egginton
-
Passionate Sage
- The Character and Legacy of John Adams
- By: Joseph J. Ellis
- Narrated by: Tom Parker
- Length: 8 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
John Adams, one of the Founding Fathers of our nation and its second president, spent nearly the last third of his life in retirement, grappling with contradictory views of his place in history and fearing his reputation would not fare well in the generations after his death. And indeed, future generations did slight him, elevating Jefferson and Madison to lofty heights while Adams remained way back in the second tier.
-
-
Stays true to Audible's description
- By Neil on 10-24-09
By: Joseph J. Ellis
-
There Was a Country
- A Personal History of Biafra
- By: Chinua Achebe
- Narrated by: Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
- Length: 9 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The defining experience of Chinua Achebe's life was the Nigerian civil war, also known as the Biafran War, of 1967-1970. The conflict was infamous for its savage impact on the Biafran people, Chinua Achebe's people, many of whom were starved to death after the Nigerian government blockaded their borders. Immediately after, Achebe took refuge in an academic post in the United States, and for more than 40 years he has maintained a considered silence on the events of those terrible years. Now, decades in the making, comes a towering reckoning with one of modern Africa's most fateful events.
-
-
The Audible Edition Is a Disaster
- By Olu on 11-28-12
By: Chinua Achebe
-
Year Zero
- A History of 1945
- By: Ian Buruma
- Narrated by: Gildart Jackson
- Length: 14 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Year Zero is a landmark reckoning with the greatdrama that ensued after war came to an end in 1945. One world had ended and anew, uncertain one was beginning. Regime change had come across Asia and all of continental Europe. It was the greatest global powervacuum in history, and out of the often vicious power struggles thatensued emerged the modern world as we know it.
-
-
Great historical overview
- By marykk on 10-14-13
By: Ian Buruma
What listeners say about Arguably: Essays by Christopher Hitchens
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Gregory
- 01-20-12
Love the Book; Hate the reading-- Way too fast
Would you try another book from Christopher Hitchens and/or Simon Prebble?
Hitchens puts a lot of thoughts into a few words; his economy of words make one want to enjoy the thought or, perhaps the way it is expressed by a master of English. But, alas, this is the first book I have encountered on Audible where the narrator spews out the words so fast that it is impossible to keep up with the author's train of thought, let alone appreciate the style of writing. Granted the hard cover book is rather large, but don't skimp on audio space by racing through the reading of the book...
After attempting to listen to this book, I had to go out and buy the hard cover. This is the first book I have had this issue with. I have listened to many of Hitchen's debates on my IPod and have had no issue when the author speaks himself. This is clearly the narrator scurrying hastily through the book. Do we get paid by the quantity of books narrated, so that a short book is paid the same as a lengthy tome like Arguably? Doubtable as this may be, it is the only possible reason I could see for the TV and radio-like
How could the performance have been better?
Read Slower. A lot slower.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Collin
- 11-24-12
Format was the only problem
Would you try another book from Christopher Hitchens and/or Simon Prebble?
I would and have.
Any additional comments?
My only concern is that the essays are not seekable by chapters. Skipping a chapter likely means I unintentionally skipped over two or three essays and landed in the middle of a third. This made book navigation very difficult and perhaps the first time I regretted getting an audio book.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- T. McDaniel
- 06-12-15
I dare you to only listen once.
I have listened to this several times and will no doubt listen several more. because I learn something new that i missed on the last listen. I Love this book! and the narration is outstanding!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 04-15-20
Hitch
A huge variety of essays and reviews very well performed. The reader’s tone is not dissimilar to hitchens’.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Taribero
- 07-14-22
Excellent
This collection of essays gives us a supreme view of Hitchens' works. It is a must to have it
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jeff Lacy
- 02-09-20
Intelligent and original
Hitchens provides intelligent and insightful essays with his original genius of analysis and writing. His range of subjects is deep and wide. One comes away smarter, but also envious of a dexterous and commanding mind and pen.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Andrew
- 01-21-13
Eloquent and Intelligent
What did you love best about Arguably: Essays by Christopher Hitchens?
Hitchens' choice of words has always been a highlight to his articles. Considering the book is a collection of many of his articles, it goes without saying that the text will be full of wonder and clarity.
Who was your favorite character and why?
During his story of Taiwan, the introduction of the children there will forever stick in my mind. The book paints such an unfiltered, powerful image that, while reading, I had to take a few seconds to compose myself and journey on.
Have you listened to any of Simon Prebble’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
This was an excellent performance. I've not heard previous ones but, when comparing performances to listen to in the future, his Mr Prebble's name will certainly be the one that I choose when searching for books with multiple narrators.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
The final chapters of the book bring good humor to the collection. This is a good thing, considering the previous chapters deal with sometimes drastic historical issues. I laughed heartily and, though no tears were actually shed while reading, they did well up and begin to protest their containment.
Any additional comments?
Considering Hitchens enjoyed using little phrases of multiple languages to drive home a point every now and then in an article, it might help to have an online translator handy so you can type in a phrase and fully understand what the author meant. This is a trademark Hitchens occurrence and takes place within almost every article. So, as Hitch might say, 'Se preparer.'
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- O.
- 02-08-13
Stirred and Shaken
I listened to the 28 hours 26 minutes, which covered 107 essays, most which had been published in The Atlantic, Slate, Vanity Fair or the NYTimes during the 2000’s. I had never heard of Christopher Hitchens prior to this and for whatever reason it was that the book caught my attention and on impulse, I purchased it, I will forever be grateful for the unknown motivation that propelled me to do so. I cannot remember the last time that I felt such amazement at someone’s ability to speak so interestingly and well about such a wide variety of topics. Repeatedly I found myself thinking, “How could one person be so brilliant?” Even if I didn’t always agree with the content of what he was discussing or even understand what he was talking about, I found myself amazed at his command of the English language, vocabulary, use of metaphors, wit and sarcasm, sense of humor, and on and on… I kept thinking, “Who talks/writes/thinks like this anymore?” In a world filled with “thx, u2, c u l8r’s, wat u doin?” etc., it was refreshing to hear his words and thoughts, some which made me laugh out loud, some which made me wince but always, they stimulated my mind.
To read a great review of the book by the NYTimes.
Some reviewers on Audible.com felt that Simon Prebble’s narration speed was too fast. I thought his pace was perfect and his reading flawless, however, I'd recommend listening to the sample to make sure you are comfortable with the reading. (I loved it)
Mr. Hitchens passed away in Dec. 2011. I regret not having discovered him decades ago so I could have enjoyed him while he was still alive but I am thankful that I stumbled upon his work and will certainly seek out more of his writing.
Like most people with busy lives that try to balance work, family, health, and as a writer, editing and writing, I don’t take spending 28 ½ hours on anything lightly, but I’d gladly spend 2600 hours listening to his work if it meant I’d be blessed with 1% of his mental ability.
I’d highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys having their intellect not only stirred but also possibly shaken.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
19 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Some
- 02-13-15
A candidate for multiple re-listenings
Absolutely amazing. The sections on German National Socialism in the last third were, admittedly, a little dry. However, the rest is pure gold. The only improvement would have been to have the author record all the essays; the impossibility of this now is not lost on me.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- chetyarbrough.blog
- 10-02-14
HEAVEN HELL OR THE GREAT VOID
Hitchens’ capacious knowledge and clever phrasing intimidates and delights casual and committed pundits. Whether to heaven hell or the great void, Hitchen’s passing is a great loss. Hitchens’ proves that one may fail as a memoir maven (“Hitch 22”); yet brilliantly succeed with insightful essays about literature, other writers, and a Marxian view of the world.
This rough categorization of Hitchens’ essays is wholly inadequate because in truth Hitchens covers a gamut of historic events in the Middle East and a wide range of subjects from water boarding to the evolution of the word “blow job”. Hitchens is considerably more than the sum of this inadequate review.
At the very least, a reader of Hitchen’s essays will be exposed to a wider world of literature, politics, and belief than most slingers of solipsistic clap trap. Hitchens does not always hit the mark of enlightenment or entertainment in his essays but he is rarely boring. Hitchens’ forays into Pakistan, North Korea, and Iran and his offer to be water boarded are tributes to his manic effort to know the truth of what he writes.
One can salute Hitchens’ intellect and bravery without necessarily believing what he believes. His pursuit of first hand experience; his erudition and wide literary exposure are what any writer or reader admires. One believes he will be loved and missed by many. “Arguably” is a fun and fascinating profile of a very interesting human being.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!