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The Quotable Hitchens: From Alcohol to Zionism--The Very Best of Christopher Hitchens
A compendium of never-before-collected quotations from #1 "New York Times"-bestselling author Christopher Hitchens on hundreds of subjects
ebook, 0 pages
Published
May 10th 2011
by Da Capo Press
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Ugh, avoid avoid avoid - this chopping up of the splendid Mr Hitchens renders him into a bile-filled spleen queen you would run a mile on broken glass to avoid - plus how would it be if someone took sentences here and there from your random writings from the past 30 years out of context and presented them as the dernier mots of political wit - you may be saying whoah, don't do that please, these old arguments of my youth have surely lost their relevance, whatever points I was making will have be...more
As a kid I would sometimes read quotationaries for hours, pouring over page after of page of witticisms, highlighting the ones I wanted to memorize. I remember believing that memorizing quotes about virtue would magically make me more virtuous and that storing up perfectly-worded insults would make me funnier. Both of these hopes were largely hollow (they mainly contribute to the making of a self-righteous prick), but the second has at least brought me joy. Bonding over beer and bombastic rants...more
Three stars may be a misleadingly low rating. If I were rating "Christopher Hitchens" instead of "The Quotable Hitchens" the rating would be five stars. And there are parts of this book that are about as enjoyable as reading gets.
But the book was edited by Windsor Mann, not Hitchens. A number of the quotations are confusing or even incomprehensible out of context. There are certain of Hitchens' opinions (his views on Middle Eastern politics, for instance) which require pages, not a paragraph, to...more
But the book was edited by Windsor Mann, not Hitchens. A number of the quotations are confusing or even incomprehensible out of context. There are certain of Hitchens' opinions (his views on Middle Eastern politics, for instance) which require pages, not a paragraph, to...more
"What can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence." "The measure of an education is that you acquire some extent of your ignorance." Have a feeling this will go into my Top Fav's list. Have only gotten through the Introduction and am already making highlights in my Kindle.
It's either love or hate him, there is no in between. Love Hitch & loved the quotes - and loved some more than others.
It's either love or hate him, there is no in between. Love Hitch & loved the quotes - and loved some more than others.
I am not sure how to review this book. On the one side the author does a good job of collecting a very wide assortment of Hitchens quotes and presenting them in a comfortable and accessible way. On the other hand Hitchens come off within the book as an attention seeking hypocrite. I agree with much of Hitchens stances on things such as religion, gay marriage and abortion, but on almost every other major topic, especially on his opinions regarding how we should live, I am so disappointed in him....more
Hitchens himself acknowledged quotes can easily be taken out of context.
It's a good read to familiarize yourself with some of the Hitch's opinions on various topics (Bill Clinton, Reagan, Iraq War, Israel, humor, mortality), however, without a comprehensive read of Hitchens, some of it is easily taken out of context.
Sometimes the barrage of quotes makes it sound like he was an ignorant, stereotyping, shoot-from-the-hip type of guy, but he was so much more than that.
I'm confident that any quot...more
It's a good read to familiarize yourself with some of the Hitch's opinions on various topics (Bill Clinton, Reagan, Iraq War, Israel, humor, mortality), however, without a comprehensive read of Hitchens, some of it is easily taken out of context.
Sometimes the barrage of quotes makes it sound like he was an ignorant, stereotyping, shoot-from-the-hip type of guy, but he was so much more than that.
I'm confident that any quot...more
Jan 31, 2012
Jason
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
All Hitch fans & Hitch curious
ORIGINALITY: “Originality is a quality so rarely met with in humans that when it does occur it is often disputed.” [“Steal This Article,” Vanity Fair, May 1996]
So rare are there individuals who truly possess the faculties to continuously amaze and enlighten those with similar and differing opinions with as deft a command of the English language as Christopher Hitchens. With his passing in late 2011, human discourse has suffered greatly, and may have lost a considerable amount of intelligence. ‘T...more
So rare are there individuals who truly possess the faculties to continuously amaze and enlighten those with similar and differing opinions with as deft a command of the English language as Christopher Hitchens. With his passing in late 2011, human discourse has suffered greatly, and may have lost a considerable amount of intelligence. ‘T...more
No matter how much I love Hitch, this was disappointing. I thought it would be a greatest hits, but at over 300 pages, it was an anthology of every hit. Also, I had hoped that most of the quotes would come from columns I had not read or television appearances that had not been transcribed, but it was mostly excerpts from his books. This would probably be a good book for someone who's read nothing by Hitch but wants to know (without investing the time reading his books) what he thinks about every...more
I found this book at Waterstones and I'm really glad I picked it up. Previously, I hadn't read any of his works before but have had the pleasure of watching him dominate debates and I loved the way he handled arguments. This was the first book of or, I should say about him, that I bought and I'm happy to have done so. I love opening it up every now and then and be impressed by his witty thoughts. Die hard fans should enjoy this.
Non-stop Hitch quotes, which are always interesting and usually funny whether you agree with him or not (and his thinking is such that pretty much everyone will agree and disagree with him on different points). This works better if you're at least a little bit familiar with Hitchens, so watch some videos of him on Youtube, read some of his books and articles for Vanity Fair, Slate and several other publications before you pick this up.
Similar to Amis's "King's English", and just as witty. The book reads like Hitch is sitting on your couch, sharing a bottle of Walker, and cataloging complains and brewing axioms. One interesting point: the book complies TV and debate quotations, too. In print, it's wonderful to really notice how well-spoken he is. A fine book, but not a traditional book. Probably the best bathroom book I own.
I wrote a short review which took Goodreads a minute to fucking save so I just X'd out and now it's gone. In summary, this is the literary equivalent of a clip show, obviously. I'll read some actual books from him soon, probably.
Never before have I read a book that consisted of nothing but quotes of an author . . .
I had to make an exception with this book, because Hitchens is well known for his finely tuned and poignant "geohistorical" commentary.
Hitchens talks in complete paragraphs, making a Hitchens' quote informative and unabashedly honest.
Recommended -
A fun read. Its fascinating to see multiple quotes spanning several decades on a given subject and see how Hitchens has changed and/or contradicted himself. All of his convictions (even the contradictory ones) are held with passion and expressed with wit.
A magnificent compendium of wit and wisdom from one of the greatest thinkers we've ever had.
Hitchens wrote with a fearless, peerless vehemence that struck terror in the hearts of his enemies and ignited passionate inspiration in those whose willingness to think outweighed their fear of doing so. He will be remembered for many things, and this book serves as a refreshing bottle of some of his finer moments — to be enjoyed responsibly.
It hardly encompasses the full breadth of his contributions to...more
Hitchens wrote with a fearless, peerless vehemence that struck terror in the hearts of his enemies and ignited passionate inspiration in those whose willingness to think outweighed their fear of doing so. He will be remembered for many things, and this book serves as a refreshing bottle of some of his finer moments — to be enjoyed responsibly.
It hardly encompasses the full breadth of his contributions to...more
Feb 22, 2012
Stuart Lutzenhiser
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
non-fiction
I love Hitchens' writing - not always his opinions - but his writing is usually superb. That being said, reading it usually requires some context to fully appreciate. This book is a collection of out-of-context quotes on Hitchens' writing on various subjects. Sometimes the citation of when and where published is enough to give it some kind of context, or it refreshes your memory of having read it when originally published. But for the most part, it is a disservice to his work and less enjoyable...more
He was one of the greatest minds of our time. Its sad that he is gone, but this is a very good book to get the best out of all his debates and articles.
Grossly engaging, even if you don't know who Hitchens was. It culls some of the best zingers from his many essays and articles on every popular subject in the last 30 years or so. Fiercely intelligent.
Enjoyable but snippets don't lend themselves to analysis. At best it gave me some direction about what Hitchens I want to read next
I love Hitchens ... Don't always agree with him. This was just a dogs breakfast! The best part was the forward by his friend Martin Amis
Sep 18, 2011
Michael
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
non-fiction,
religion
Loved so many of his quotes. There are lots of them too from his 30 or more years of public speaking, teaching anf t.v. appearances.
A lot of fun and convenient to have quotes stored in one place, but in the end you really want to read the long-form of the excerpts.
Hitchens is one of my favorite intellectuals/journalists....what more to say? Alphabetical clipping from past books and articles according to topic. A great read as a casual coffee table book, or cover to cover. Very nice collection of the Hitch!
Agree or disagree w/ Hitchens, he is never boring and always challenges us and the conventional wisdom.
Limited, but excellent.
This is already making me sad.
priceless
While I find myself regularly laughing out loud Hitchens' stuff, this book shows what a rare and wonderful thing it is for someone to be intelligent AND clever. Hitchens is one of those unique talents.
"I have often thought that when I do die it will be of sheer boredom...
“Nonintervention does not mean that nothing happens. It means that something else happens.”
This man was not shy about his feelings on things. Agree or not, you just have to admire his blunt, honest assessments on issues. I wish there were more like him.
“Nonintervention does not mean that nothing happens. It means that something else happens.”
This man was not shy about his feelings on things. Agree or not, you just have to admire his blunt, honest assessments on issues. I wish there were more like him.
This book is an excellent collection of quotes which you can use wherever necessary in your battles against smallmindedness everywhere. A previous reviewer said he was rating the book and not Hitchens, and thus gave it only 3 stars. I enthusiastically reverse this and rate Hitchens himself: 5 stars! He won't soon be forgotten.
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"Christopher Eric Hitchens (April 13, 1949 – December 15, 2011) was an English-born American author, journalist and literary critic. He was a contributor to Vanity Fair, The Atlantic, World Affairs, The Nation, Slate, Free Inquiry and a variety of other media outlets. Hitchens was also a political observer, whose best-selling books — the most famous being god Is Not Great — made him a staple of ta...more
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“Nonintervention does not mean that nothing happens. It means that something else happens.”
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“Those of us who are most genuinely repelled by war and violence are also those who are most likely to decide that some things, after all, are worth fighting for.”
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