Letters to a Young Contrarian

By: Christopher Hitchens

Narrated by: James Adams

Length: 3 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

Art of Mentoring series

In the book that he was born to write, provocateur and best-selling author Christopher Hitchens inspires future generations of radicals, gadflies, mavericks, rebels, angry young (wo)men, and dissidents. 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.

This book explores the entire range of "contrary positions" - from noble dissident to gratuitous pain in the butt. In an age of overly polite debate bending over backward to reach a happy consensus within an increasingly centrist political dialogue, Hitchens pointedly pitches himself in contrast. He bemoans the loss of the skills of dialectical thinking evident in contemporary society. He understands the importance of disagreement - to personal integrity, to informed discussion, to true progress - heck, to democracy itself.

Epigrammatic, spunky, witty, in your face, timeless and timely, this book is everything you would expect from a mentoring contrarian.

©2009 Christopher Hitchens (P)2020 Hachette Audio

Great book by great mind

I enjoyed listening to this rather short but well-written book that gives the listener a brief and informative idea about the writer who was one of the prominent intellectuals of our time.

Independent Thinkers & Those Seeking Truth

For those disgusted and exhausted with the extreme anti-intellectualism of party politics, this is for you. Speak your mind or you will lose it. The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.

There are days when I miss my old convictions as if they were an amputated limb. But in general I feel better, and no less radical, and you will feel better too, I guarantee, once you leave hold of the doctrinaire and allow your chainless mind to do its own thinking.

Hitch at his best

Well written and eloquently articulate - everything you’d expect from Christopher Hitchens. I highly recommend it to anyone that is open to objective reasoning and the notion of looking at our world from different perspectives.

The pleasure of being contrarian

I remember Susan Sontag very bravely in front of an audience, that was heavily turkish, insisting on parallel with Armenian Genocide. #ChristopherHitchens #LettersToAYoungContrarian

In the 20th century, which was forced to invent the term of #Genocide, the ottoman turks exterminated Christian Armenians under the cover of the war and in occupied territories, where there were few independent witnesses. #ChristopherHitchens #LettersToAYoungContrarian

Hitch is never exhaustive

Just when you have read and listened to a bunch of his books and debates and assume that there are little new things he could possibly put on a table, he does his magic and leaves you speechless and reflecting upon so many new ideas and values. Listen and read anything and everything you can from Christopher Hitchens. His brilliance is unparalleled!!!

Awesome!

It feels like he’s talking to you. Such a great man of integrity. I recommend for anyone who enjoys logic, reason and well read authors.

Hitch's Rants Never Get Old

Letters to a Young Contrarian is presented as a series of letters to a "X" and these letters pretty much sum Hitchens' views on a variety of topics with the underlying theme of being a moral upstanding citizen by being a contrarian in the face of the many ills of the world, or at least what he considers to be the ills of the world. He's here to stir the pot, and does so eloquently.

He attacks any number of subjects and takes down anyone and everyone, from religion, Bill Clinton, Kissinger, the Dalai Lama, and many others. A true contrarian. I especially like this letter about the Bosnian War which he discusses at length. I was too busy with life during this period of time and did not understand the motivations of the actors and the horrors which took place. Hitch traveled everywhere and when he wrote about something is was often times based on his first hand experience. It's a shame he's still not with us to comment on the current state of American politics and international crises.

Like the other Hitch books I've read, there are countless great pithy quotes and scathing commentary. He was often hilarious and always as sharp as a tack. Even if you don't agree with all of this opinions, one must appreciate how well he writes and gets his points across. He will make you reconsider your views of a number of subjects. Any fan of Hitch has probably read some of the subject matter contained in this book previously in other works, but to us fans it never gets old. Otherwise, for someone new to Hitch, this would be a good, short introductory read which allows the reader a look inside the head of this brilliant, prolific writer and get an idea what made him so highly regarded on the speaking, debate, and TV guest circuits.

A wonderful compendium with a few items of genius do you want to read/listen to it again

Hitchens never ceases to illuminate with insightful argument, eloquence prose and brilliance of wit. His references always make me search for more, and realize how thinly read I am.

Fantastic fodder for the mind

Always enjoy Hitchens and his dialectic musings. The end kinda shuffled out to the political isthmus, but the book itself was one to enjoy in the reflection of his direction.

Just get it

He will leave you with more final lines mid-paragraph than you get in the entire cannon of his “contemporary” peers. His equal is…well…there isn’t one.

Just read him and never look back.