Hitch-22
A Memoir
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Hitch-22
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Narrated by:
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Christopher Hitchens
About this listen
Over the course of his 60 years, Christopher Hitchens has been a citizen of both the United States and the United Kingdom. He has been both a socialist opposed to the war in Vietnam and a supporter of the U.S. war against Islamic extremism in Iraq. He has been both a foreign correspondent in some of the world's most dangerous places and a legendary bon vivant with an unquenchable thirst for alcohol and literature.
He is a fervent atheist, raised as a Christian, by a mother whose Jewish heritage was not revealed to him until her suicide. In other words, Christopher Hitchens contains multitudes. He sees all sides of an argument. And he believes the personal is political.
This is the story of his life, lived large.
©2011 Christopher Hitchens (P)2011 Audible LtdListeners also enjoyed...
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- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 10,997
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 8,844
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In the tradition of Bertrand Russell's Why I Am Not a Christian and Sam Harris' recent best-seller, The End of Faith, Christopher Hitchens makes the ultimate case against religion. With a close and erudite reading of the major religious texts, he documents the ways in which religion is a man-made wish, a cause of dangerous sexual repression, and a distortion of our origins in the cosmos.
-
5 out of 5 stars
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5-Star Writing. Perfect Author Narration.
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,271
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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 enduring legacies of Thomas Jefferson and George Orwell.
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Death IS the DARK backing
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Letters to a Young Contrarian
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- Length: 3 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 167
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 143
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 143
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.
-
5 out of 5 stars
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The Qur'an
- A Biography: Books That Changed the World
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- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 5 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 94
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 34
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Story4 out of 5 stars 34
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In 2007, Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and Daniel Dennett filmed a landmark discussion about modern atheism. The video went viral. Now, the transcript of their conversation is illuminated by new essays from three of the original participants and an introduction by Stephen Fry.
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Short
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America need look no further than its own lauded leaders for a war criminal whose offenses rival those of the most heinous dictators in recent history: Henry Kissinger. Employing evidence based on firsthand testimony, unpublished documents, and new information uncovered by the Freedom of Information Act, and using only what would hold up in international courts of law, The Trial of Henry Kissinger outlines atrocities authorized by the former secretary of state in Indochina, Bangladesh, Chile, Cyprus, and more.
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A Nobel Peace Prize recipient beatified by the Catholic Church in 2003, Mother Teresa of Calcutta was celebrated by heads of state and adored by millions for her work on behalf of the poor. In his measured critique, Hitchens asks only that Mother Teresa's reputation be judged by her actions - not the other way around. With characteristic élan and rhetorical dexterity, Hitchens eviscerates the fawning cult of Teresa, recasting the Albanian missionary as a spurious, despotic, and megalomaniacal operative.
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The death of Christopher Hitchens in December 2011 prematurely silenced a voice that was among the most admired of contemporary writers. For more than 40 years, Hitchens delivered to numerous publications on both sides of the Atlantic essays that were astonishingly wide ranging and provocative.
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4 out of 5 stars
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In Contrast. . .
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Over the course of his 60 years, Christopher Hitchens has been a citizen of both the United States and the United Kingdom. He has been both a socialist opposed to the war in Vietnam and a supporter of the U.S. war against Islamic extremism in Iraq. He has been both a foreign correspondent in some of the world's most dangerous places and a legendary bon vivant. He is a fervent atheist, raised as a Christian, by a mother whose Jewish heritage was not revealed to him until her suicide.
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In No One Left to Lie To, a New York Times best seller, Christopher Hitchens casts an unflinching eye on the Clinton political machine and offers a searing indictment of a president who sought to hold power at any cost. With blistering wit and meticulous documentation, Hitchens masterfully deconstructs Clinton's abject propensity for pandering to the Left while delivering to the Right, and he argues that the president's personal transgressions were ultimately inseparable from his political corruption.
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Here is an impassioned plea for reason in a world divided by faith. This important and timely work delivers a startling analysis of the clash of faith and reason in today's world. Harris offers a vivid historical tour of mankind's willingness to suspend reason in favor of religious beliefs, even when those beliefs are used to justify harmful behavior and sometimes heinous crimes.
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Good book, bad narrator
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Discover magazine recently called Richard Dawkins "Darwin's Rottweiler" for his fierce and effective defense of evolution. Prospect magazine voted him among the top three public intellectuals in the world (along with Umberto Eco and Noam Chomsky). Now Dawkins turns his considerable intellect on religion, denouncing its faulty logic and the suffering it causes.
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,110
In 12 fiercely funny, mind-expanding chapters, Dawkins explains how the natural world arose without a designer - the improbability and beauty of the "bottom-up programming" that engineers an embryo or a flock of starlings - and challenges head-on some of the most basic assumptions made by the world’s religions: Do you believe in God? Which one? Is the Bible a "Good Book"? Is adhering to a religion necessary, or even likely, to make people good to one another? Outgrowing God is a concise, provocative guide to thinking for yourself.
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Richard Dawkins, the world’s most famous evolutionary biologist, presents a gorgeously lucid, science book examining some of the nature’s most fundamental questions both from a mythical and scientific perspective. Science is our most precise and powerful tool for making sense of the world. Before we developed the scientific method, we created rich mythologies to explain the unknown. The pressing questions that primitive men and women asked are the same ones we ask as children. Who was the first person? What is the sun? Why is there night and day?
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5 out of 5 stars
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Audio version is superb for us grown-ups
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Einstein
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 15,530
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 12,041
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 12,064
Why we think it’s a great listen: You thought he was a stodgy scientist with funny hair, but Isaacson and Hermann reveal an eloquent, intense, and selfless human being who not only shaped science with his theories, but politics and world events in the 20th century as well. Based on the newly released personal letters of Albert Einstein, Walter Isaacson explores how an imaginative, impertinent patent clerk became the mind reader of the creator of the cosmos.
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5 out of 5 stars
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What listeners say about Hitch-22
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Adrian
- 10-21-17
Hitch is great.
The world is little less without Hitch. He was a champion of social justice and liberalism. Both a vociferous and eloquent voice of reason. His life story is fascinating, yet it is ironic sadly that he penned his autobiography unaware of his pending fate.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Roger Morris
- 01-27-15
Fantastic!
Any additional comments?
A fascinating and highly entertaining memoir of a extremely interesting and multifaceted public intellectual. Hitchens is a fine and inspiring example of the value of a broad education in literature and the humanities, as well as an excellent advertisement for being well and broadly read in both the classics and contemporary literature. Highly recommended!
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Felix Del Barrio
- 04-12-13
A masterful memoir
If you could sum up Hitch-22 in three words, what would they be?
The Horse's Mouth
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
An amazing recollection of the boy from Irvine who took Christopher's views to heart.
Any additional comments?
A great book
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- jammer
- 05-14-15
The amazing Christopher Hitchens
Just get it. You will learn stuff. The mans life and knowledge is very compelling as one of the worlds best orators and thinkers. Highly recommended.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- robin
- 05-07-21
Brilliant
One slight issue is that the audio istn't as clear and the other audio books I've listened too, but it's still good enough. Great story teller, I recommend it highly.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Steve Walker
- 12-03-22
An amazing individual
Settle in to a deep mind swelling with information and analysis all delivered with his unmistakable style
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ross
- 03-29-12
MASTERFUL & REVEALING
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Yes, yes, yes. It is a fabulous example of the value of a deep education, an insight into a brilliant mind and an honest walk in the shoes of a less than perfect but incredibly timely, talents, fortunate and authentic individual.
What was one of the most memorable moments of Hitch-22?
There are numerous memorable moments but I would choose Hitch's narrative of the funeral of Mark Daily as one that has securely implanted itself in my mind.
Which scene was your favorite?
His vivid description of the approach to Malta with his mother as a child.
If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?
Hitch22 - erudite, eloquent and honest - the powerful life of an idealist.
Any additional comments?
In writing this review I am concerned that my feeble abilities may reflect poorly upon the subject. Hitch 22 is worth 'reading' even if the person or topic does not interest you purely for the quality of the writing. I normally listen to books on 2 or 3 times normal speed, Hitch packs so much content and meaning into each sentence that I had to listen to this, at least the first time, at normal speed and replay sections just to hear it again for deep effect. Hitch narrated with presence and sincerity. By listening to this book as opposed to reading it I feel I gained another dimension of or connection to who he was. This is a unique method of leaving your mark on the world and mark well worth the leaving. Well lived Hitch.
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6 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ian
- 09-06-12
Hitchens history, Hitchens words, read by Hitchens
I know there should be apostrophes in the "Hitchens"es in the title. But Audible wouldn't give me space and I couldn't bring myself to call him Hitch. Because I don't know him well enough and very sadly I now never will. So I chose bad punctuation over disrespect.
If you love Hitchen's writing, which I do. And love his speaking, which I do. Then you will love this work. The biography of a clever, witty and educated man spoken by himself is always going to be an interesting read and this is. The only downside is that I had to keep stopping it because it made me sad to realise that the supply of thought from this man has been cut short.
If you don't like Hitchens ideas or the way he expresses them then quite frankly you will hate this book with a passion. Good. Real thought is not meant to be easy and real ideas require work. The problem is that the people who will hate this work the most will do so without ever reading it.
Starting from his childhood and dealing openly with his schoolboy experiences , his family and the beginning of his political thinking, Hitchens reveals himself to be a very human set of contradictions. He speaks warmly of favoured authors and people who he touches along the way. There is enough soul searching to be interesting and enough lack of cod psychology to be refreshing. He tells it the way he sees it and explains why he sees it that way.
There is some slightly boring stuff about the literary circle he moved in and literary people he meets. Its interesting enough in small doses but there are sections where it goes on a bit and has a quality of "You probably needed to be there" about it. But at the end of the day that is the man. He is literary to his boots except when he is political.
And the politics is interesting. Always leftist (whatever that means) he shows that his actual politic compass was always pointed at attacking totalitarianism in any of its many forms and that sometimes meant that the lesser of two evils still looked evil from the outside. The passages dealing with his road to US citizenship are fascinating.
There is relatively little about Hitchens high profile contribution to the rationalist atheist movement. If you want to hear Hitchens on religion then buy a copy of "God is not Great". (No - I mean it - buy a copy - he reads that too and its marvellous).
All in all this is a work that I will listen to again and again. As much because it feels just a tiny bit like it gives me the privilege of spending a little time with a careful thinker who I shall never meet.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- mahoneko
- 07-12-14
Essential: The memoir of super-literate dissident
What did you love best about Hitch-22?
The way he takes us through the last 60 odd years cutting away the nonsense, smoke and mirrors and infighting hidden truths, conspiracy and corruption.
Who was your favorite character and why?
Obviously Hitchens himself.
Have you listened to any of Christopher Hitchens’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
Actually his performance on his God is Great book is a little better, but obviously he was ill when he narrated this memoir, it is still a delight to hear him narrate it himself, he was one of the best public speakers.
If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?
A very British American Dissident.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Dj Shelwell
- 08-07-16
A must hear if you love Hitch
Can get quite obscure but to have his story & insights spoken by his own voice is fantastic
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1 person found this helpful