Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Hitch-22: A Memoir

3.99 of 5 stars 3.99 · rating details · 6,182 ratings · 709 reviews

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 unque...more

ebook, 1st Edition

Published June 2nd 2010 by Twelve (first published May 1st 2010)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Add this book to your favorite list »

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 3,000)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Apr 08, 2013 Petra X rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: biography-true-story, popculture-anthropology

Ok, I've pussyfooted around this long enough with teasing comments. Tell-all time.

Hitchens states that Clinton's famous statement on him not inhaling was correct. That he knew him at Oxford and that Clinton was allergic to smoke. This isn't true. I know by evidence of my own eyes and testimony from a rather involved participant that Clinton smoked huge joints and looked very happy about doing so! This has somewhat destroyed Hitchens' credibility although maybe increased the enjoyability of the...more Ok, I've pussyfooted around this long enough with teasing comments. Tell-all time.

Hitchens states that Clinton's famous statement on him not inhaling was correct. That he knew him at Oxford and that Clinton was allergic to smoke. This isn't true. I know by evidence of my own eyes and testimony from a rather involved participant that Clinton smoked huge joints and looked very happy about doing so! This has somewhat destroyed Hitchens' credibility although maybe increased the enjoyability of the book as I see if I can find any more 'errors'.

Hitchens, however, does mention Clinton's lesbian girlfriends, and this bit I know to be absolutely true. "Girlfriends" in the plural is correct, but they weren't all lesbians, some were bisexual, at least the ones I knew about.

This is how I know. There is a Guardian journalist who used to rent my flat in London, a very nice lady, very concerned and very left wing (aren't they all at the Grauniad*). Towards the end of Clinton's first term in office she showed me a photograph of the Pres in his Rhodes Scholarship days in bed naked with a huge joint in his mouth and his arms around two naked girls. One of the two girls was the journalist's much older lesbian lover :-) Yes he did inhale. He smoked for the same reason a lot of us like a puff at romantic times, really rather enhances it.

I said to her that she just had to get the photograph out there, that she would be able to retire on the proceeds, or be famous, or both. But no, she wouldn't. She said she didn't want to hurt him politically. I said that an awful lot of the youth of America don't bother voting and if they saw Bill living the Boy's Own dream - a scholarship to Oxford, in bed with two stunningly beautiful women, one of whom at least was a lezzie, smoking a big joint, they would rush to vote back in a president who they could at least relate to!

But she didn't. And I was probably wrong. Too many right wing fundamentalist killjoys in the US. But still I did see the pic and the journalist is going strong, an author now and the photo is still insurance money for her old age.

The book - oh, it's very good. Not as good as Hitchens' Arguably: Selected Essays but still an excellent read. He had a very interesting childhood and flitted around with his sexuality somewhat, the dalliances of which he obviously enjoyed recalling. He also found out that he was Jewish (a fact his mother had never mentioned) but it didn't temper his extremely left-wing atheism nor his also-famous brother Peter's very traditional right-wing Christianity.

As a strongly individualist intellectual, Hitchens never compromised and as a man with brilliant communication skills, he left a very interesting autobiography of his life and times. Recommended to everyone who is a bit of an iconoclast and enjoys cheering on others of that ilk.

*not a spelling mistake, the Guardian's nickname as its typos were the worst of all the newspapers(less)

88 likes · like · see review

Aug 07, 2012 Jeffrey Keeten rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Plato says that the unexamined life is not worth living. But what if the examined life turns out to be a clunker as well? Kurt Vonnegut: Wampeters, Foma and Granfalloons

The Young Christopher Hitchens

This is my first time reading a Christopher Hitchens's book; of course, it is not my first exposure to Hitchens. He was a favorite of talk shows. (He followed his friend Gore Vidal's advice never to turn down a chance to be on TV.) He attended rallies and protests domestic and foreign. He wrote ince...more

59 likes · like · see review

Oct 01, 2011 Rosechimera rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Hitch 22 is more of a survey and opinion of modern history than a memoir. In part this is due to the spectacular public life that Hitchens has led, but it doesn't feel like an account from someone who has led a life at all. For someone who holds passionate and often (though not always) beautifully supported opinions, Hitchens presents his own life in a very detached manner. There is bountiful name dropping of really only public figures. His family of origin is sparsely mentioned, his current wif...more

15 likes · like · see review

Jul 27, 2012 Mag rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: memoir, non-fiction

Hitch -22, some confessions and contradictions, is an apt title for this book. Even though it starts like a regular autobiography and goes on to be one in the end, it’s not linear and complete. There isn’t so much of Hitchens private life there. Most of it deals with his political and social views: his convictions and reflections on democracy, totalitarianism, terrorism and religion and an explanation of his changing political views. There are great bits on his friends: Martin Amis, Salman Rushd...more

5 likes · like · see review

Nov 04, 2011 E rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: biographies

In March 2010, Rabbi David Wolpe debated Hitchens on the topic of (what else?) religion and eventually sputtered, "Don't interrupt me! I didn't interrupt you."

Hitchens smiled. "No, you weren't quick enough."

If that sort of delicious irony makes you swoon, you'll likely adore Hitchens' memoir. If that sort of disrespectful self-regard makes you seethe, you're unlikely to enjoy less than one page of it. I find myself in the middle, possibly the one and only Person On Earth Who Feels Moderately Abo...more

13 likes · like · see review

Oct 02, 2010 Todd rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle

Who is the man who would risk his neck for a brother man? Hitch!
He's a complicated man and no one understands him but his mama. Chris Hitch!
Hitch is a bad mother--Shut your mouth!

All right, enough of that. This is an amazing book that I want everyone to read. To get an idea of how great it is -- finding out the identity of Deep Throat when it was still a closely guarded secret only merits a footnote in this massive memoir.

I picked it up because it was recommended to me by a lot of people. Usuall...more

8 likes · like · see review

Sep 15, 2012 Esdaile rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: biographies, politically-committed

I found this an entertaining and instructive read. It was chance (serendipity?) that I got to read it. My flight from San José to Frankfurt having been delayed by 24 hours (sic) I wondered over to the book stall at the airport to find something to read during the long wait. The selection of books was small and rather eccentric. Several copies of this book took up a considerable amount of the small space alloted to books. The introduction in which Hitch notes that someone prematurely referred to...more I found this an entertaining and instructive read. It was chance (serendipity?) that I got to read it. My flight from San José to Frankfurt having been delayed by 24 hours (sic) I wondered over to the book stall at the airport to find something to read during the long wait. The selection of books was small and rather eccentric. Several copies of this book took up a considerable amount of the small space alloted to books. The introduction in which Hitch notes that someone prematurely referred to him as the "late Mr Hitchens" followed by reflections on death in view of a diagnosis of terminal cancer, made for poignnat reading as CH had become "late" only a few months before.

Reading the book I was struck by two things, one how very light-weight a thinker this man was and secondly how compassionate. Hitchens was an indefatigable journalist who positively relished rushing to scenes of conflict and then rushing out his views (he claims never to have missed a deadline). He followed the trajectory of rowdy lefty to "neocom" which many have followed, but so far as I know he is the only "neocom" to present readers with the story of what he calls growing awareness and others would call and indeed have called, a shift.

His book, which is a very selective autobiography that excludes all personal events which the writer does not consider relevant to his narrative, highlighted a number of very interesting points. He was born into an upper-middle class family, his father was a naval commander who faught with disctinction in the War. He attended Public School and Balliol College Oxford, where he became a fairly typical but especially committed student lefty. He was a student at the time of the anti-Vietnam war protests. He met someone who introduced him to the International Socialists (today the Socialist Workers' Party), later he joined the Labour Party. Like the majority of leftists and Labour party supporters hailing from the upper rungs of the social and economic ladder, he was from the beginning much more interested in notions of international causes, human rights, anti-racism than fair wages, education of the working classes, the ending of class society, parity of wealth. So far so usual. For many on the left he isregarded as a traitor because he later turned away from knee jerk left-wing causes, mnotably those involving the Middle East.

It is fascinating reading this book to read his references to the turning points which compelled him to reassess his positions on various issues. Most observant people are intelligent, most compassionate people have a rich imagination. Hitchens was unusual in being extremely observant (which made him a fine journalist) but not especially able to draw intelligent conclusions from what he observed and to be compassionate but singularly lacking in imagination.

These lines from John Whittier could refer to Hitch: "A hate of tyranny intense/And hearty in its vehemence,/As if my brother's pain and sorrow were my own" For some people his support of the war on Serbia and later Iraq was a change a regression, a shift to the right. It is true that there is an apparent lack of coherence-how can someone who opposed the US in Vietnam passionaltely supported Nelson Mandela be in favour of the invasion of Iraq. What is the difference? The difference is that this man, so much more heart than head, was there. In his own words he could smell the gas in Iraq which Sadam had used to wipe out Kurdish villages. He was in Argentina and met the victims of the junta. Having done so, having been made to see what the Argentian dictatorship had done, there could be no question for him that Britain should not be supported in the Argentian war. Prevarication on the left appalled him. Likewise Sadam Hussein. Likewise Salman Rushdie. When he wasclose enough to injustice, then no previous statement or commitment would impede him. He would defend what was right. I am convinced that had Hitch been taken in a time machine to Algeria at the time of the Algerian war and seen what the rebels did, had he been taken to see the victims of ANC "necklacing" and talk to the relatives, he would not have supported Nelson Mandela and he would not have supported the FLN had he witnessed their handiwork.
Once he was convinced of the righteousness of a cause he was remorseless in pursuit of justice. His compassion was a burning fire. He was a political Peter Pan. He always cried for justice. He liked to provoke by using puerile words and making exagerrrated claims which he knew were exaggerated.

The second highly revealing elenment of this book is the fact that "blood will out". The son of a naval officer cannot contain his pride at the defeat of Argentina by the British army, cannot but feel for beleagured Israel once he has discovered (not rediscovered) his Jewish ancestry. Like it or not, there is an element of ethnic or national or religious (I am sure he would reject all these but there is something call it cultural if one will) fervour in his denunciation of Mohammedan potentates and dictators.

The man is naive but genuine and his naivity leads him to many a truth. His comment on deconstructivist and other theories of literature strikes at the core of the matter: what matters, he notes is not so much the theory, as a love of the writer and a love of literature. Only someone who is "pure" in the best sense of the word could think or write that. A simple but devestating truth which should be flung in the face of every weary cynical commentator and academic whose only interest is in the use of literature as the vehicle for an idea or worse, system theory.
He was no friend of religion or a belief in the aftelife (what he could not see or observe he could not believe) but his commitment and compassion would or should put many a Christian to shame. Mohammedan too, come to think of it.
(less)

2 likes · like · see review

May 31, 2011 Jeremy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Well, I went back and tallied it up and this is the seventh book by Hitchens that I have read (so far; and only if you count A Long Short War as a book, but it’s really more of a pamphlet). I keep up with his Slate column on a weekly basis and have read many Hitch articles in Vanity Fair and elsewhere. Despite being such a devotee, this is the first book I’ve rated five stars.

First, to address the complaint of a well-respected and prolific reviewer, Toe Knee, in his scathing attack of Thomas Je...more Well, I went back and tallied it up and this is the seventh book by Hitchens that I have read (so far; and only if you count A Long Short War as a book, but it’s really more of a pamphlet). I keep up with his Slate column on a weekly basis and have read many Hitch articles in Vanity Fair and elsewhere. Despite being such a devotee, this is the first book I’ve rated five stars.

First, to address the complaint of a well-respected and prolific reviewer, Toe Knee, in his scathing attack of Thomas Jefferson: Author of America – Hitchens was educated at Balliol College, Oxford, and has no need of a thesaurus whatsoever. After praising the idea of expanding one’s vocabulary by reading authors who use precise vocabulary in order to convey the subtle nuances of each concept, Toe suggests that the Hitch is not such an author. In so doing, he uses the term “unfamiliar” with regard to Hitchens’ vocabulary and charges that Hitchens uses words of this type in order to purposefully obfuscate a topic. Toe then points out that he purposefully chose the word “unfamiliar” as opposed to “recondite” or “abstruse” to make this attack. The irony here is that “unfamiliar” language would not serve to obfuscate a topic (as would, say, esoteric diction), even if Hitchens was trying to be obscurantist by design. So, Toe would have done better to purposefully choose the words he avoided in order to make his point. This is precisely the type of mistake that Christopher Hitchens avoids in his writing.

Furthermore, Hitchens is a journalist by trade. As he explains in the memoir, only through his friendship with Martin Amis (and, to a lesser extent, with other literary types like Salman Rushdie) did he come to appreciate that language can be used in ways other than matter-of-fact reporting. In other words, the style that Toe is describing is not even Hitchens’ natural inclination, but a purposefully developed infusion of literary style into non-fiction. Unfortunately for Toe, this includes some precise vocabulary when no other word will do.

One example of Hitchens’ exact use of language (and something I learned from him) is his insistence on using the term “reactionary” to describe regimes like the one in Iran, rather than the word “revolutionary.” The latter describes the desire to move forward by changing the status quo into something never before achieved, whereas the former denotes having a goal of moving backward from the current state of affairs to some pre-revolutionary state. While this represents a huge difference in outlook, the media and most politicians use the terms interchangeably to the detriment of our public understanding.

Hitchens devotes a chapter to each of his parents, with whom he seems to have had complex relationships. His mother committed suicide in Israel not long after trying to contact him by phone and missing him. His father was a man of few words who proudly served in the Royal Navy. This is really as personal a glimpse as you get into the family life; there are few and vague references to the wives and kids. He does subject himself to the Proust questionnaire, which asks some favorite-least-favorite style questions, but it’s not all that revealing.

I will concede Toe Knee’s point that there is a vast amount of references in Hitchens’ writing, but I am unwilling to complain about it. Just because I was also too lazy to read with a dictionary in one hand and an encyclopedia in the other does not mean that the burden is on Hitchens to change. His worldliness and intelligence trump my laziness all day long.

Reading this memoir will get you close to understanding one of the great minds of our time. It will take you through the development of a way of thinking. It will take you to places that you – and most other people alive today – have never been before. It will teach you that all serious people are replete with contradictions and give you encouragement that you aren’t the only person holding two opposite beliefs in your mind at the same time. It will give you insight into the most pressing concern of our generation, namely that of fascism with an Islamic face. It will reawaken your devotion to free speech and free society and encourage you to be a strong advocate for both in the face of those who would extinguish them. And it will also make you laugh pretty hard a few times.

Trust me, it’s worth your time, even without the reference books in hand.(less)

6 likes · like · see review

view all 8 comments

Jeremy Nik,

Are you implying that Toe is not a reviewer with enough clout to warrant a response? Because if so, you are terribly misguided. Being such a revie...more
Oct 15, 2010 11:10am

Jarrod Jenkins "Toe then points out that he purposefully chose the word “unfamiliar” as opposed to “recondite” or “abstruse” to make this attack. The irony here is t...more
Apr 07, 2011 08:07pm

Oct 18, 2010 Margaret rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is an absolutely engaging, and breathtakingly hilarious memoir by a man whose life parallels mine, except he's a well-known intellectual and lifelong activist, and I'm just an ersatz brainy mover. We were born in the same town, the same year; we speak with the same slightly plummy accent and became Americans at the same time. We both drank and smoked our way through adventures (I quit the fags many years ago, FYI friends), but in the process he mingled and was friends with famous politician...more

4 likes · like · see review

Jun 05, 2010 Kevin Kizer rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

I've been eagerly anticipating this memoir. Great read! Hitchens truly is a great writer with a unique voice.

4 likes · like · see review

May 24, 2013 Siya rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Great memoir from the ever-irrepressible Hitch. I'm quite a later comer to his works, my first exposure being a few of his columns and then his anti-religious "God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything" (always one for understatement he was then...).

I'd go on to read some of his essay collections - the fantastic "A Portable Atheist" as well as "Arguably". His literary voice is in full force here as well and his effortless command of the English language is fully evident as he recounts hi...more

like · see review

Jan 11, 2013 Hal rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I have liked Christopher Hitchens in the past primarily through his previous book, "God is Not Great." Being an anti-religionist, not an atheist I was pretty much in agreement with what he had to say. I was not aware however how little I knew about the man. I was hoping I would gain a lot of answers in this book but I was disappointed.

First in fairness this is a memoir not an autobiography and that is where I may have been misdirected. About 85% of the book deals with his political leftest escap...more

like · see review

Dec 22, 2012 Joshua Morris rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Hitch 22 is one of Hitchens' best books, engaging, witty and beautifully written. However, as a memoir it's not completely satisfying. He writes with love and insight about his childhood and his parents, (his mother committed suicide just before she revealed to Christopher her hidden Jewish past, his father a rather stuffy and repressed military man he calls 'The Commander' with affection).

The book covers his journey as a socialist Zelig, meeting most of the great figures of his movement as he...more

like · see review

Oct 31, 2012 Óli Sóleyjarson rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Eftir að Hitchens fékk Lennon-Ono friðarverðlaunin um daginn ákvað ég að lesa þessa bók. Ég hef aldrei verið neitt rosalega hrifinn af honum. Ég lítið lesið eftir hann og mér hefur oft fundist eitthvað fráhrindandi við hann. Kannski eru það bara reykingarnar og Írak.

Bókin rekur ævi Hitchens. Það sem stendur uppúr úr fjölskyldusögu hans er dauði móður hans sem var sérlega dapurlegur - segi ég eins og dauði sé ekki almennt dapurlegur.

Af fyrri árum hans er hins vegar skemmtilegt hvernig hann talar...more Eftir að Hitchens fékk Lennon-Ono friðarverðlaunin um daginn ákvað ég að lesa þessa bók. Ég hef aldrei verið neitt rosalega hrifinn af honum. Ég lítið lesið eftir hann og mér hefur oft fundist eitthvað fráhrindandi við hann. Kannski eru það bara reykingarnar og Írak.

Bókin rekur ævi Hitchens. Það sem stendur uppúr úr fjölskyldusögu hans er dauði móður hans sem var sérlega dapurlegur - segi ég eins og dauði sé ekki almennt dapurlegur.

Af fyrri árum hans er hins vegar skemmtilegt hvernig hann talar hreint út um tvíkynhneigð sína sem að lokum tekur enda af þeim sökum, samkvæmt honum, að hann sé ekki lengur nógu aðlaðandi til að lokka karlmenn með sér í bólið.

Sem ungur maður var Hitchens mjög róttækur vinstrimaður. Langt til vinstri við mig. Hann rekur þá sögu og það er ekki hægt að sjá að hann sé beinlínis ósammála hinum unga sjálfa sér. Hann sér hins vegar ákveðið vonleysi í hreyfingunni sem hann tilheyrði.

Ferðalög hans sem blaðamaður eru sérlega áhugaverð. Honum var mjög augljóslega mjög annt um fólk sem var kúgað víðsvegar um heim.

Hitchens fjallar mikið um mál Salman Rushdie sem virðist hafa haft mikil áhrif á hann. Rúmum áratug síðar kemur síðan ellefti september 2001 og hefur mikil áhrif á hann enda m.a. ráðist á hans heimaborg.

Þá kemur að Íraksstríðinu sem hefur mótað ímynd hans síðan. Hann studdi það stríð og hafði raunar lengi hvatt til þess. Honum tekst ágætlega að sannfæra mann um að hans ástæður fyrir þessum stuðningi væri fullkomlega af þeim völdum að hann vildi Írökum sem höfðu verið kúgaðir undir Saddam allt gott (þar spilar ekki inn nein andúð á múslimum, eða trúarbrögðum þeirra, eins og stundum hefur verið gefið í skyn). Ég get ekki sagt að ég trúi því sama um marga aðra hvatamenn stríðsins.

Gallinn við röksemdafærslu hans við stuðninginn við stríðið er að það vantar að taka inn hið mikla mannfall, sér í lagi meðal óbreyttra borgara, sem hefur fylgt því. Sömuleiðis vantar að rökstyðja hvernig eigi að koma í veg fyrir framtíðarupplausn í Írak. Reyndar þóttist ég á köflum skynja ákveðna óánægju hans með því hvernig staðið var að málum eftir að Saddam var sigraður. En það gæti verið oftúlkun hjá mér.

Um daginn sá ég tilvitnun sem skýrir ágætlega mun á mínum skoðunum og Hitchens. Hún var á þá leið að friðarsinnar væru oft ásakaðir um að dreyma óraunhæfa drauma en þeir sem það segðu væru sjálfir með óraunhæfa drauma um að stríð geti leyst vanda.

Það sem ég saknaði einna mest í bókinni var að fjalla meira um bróður hans Peter sem kemur alltof lítið fyrir. Sömuleiðis er umfjöllun um konur Hitchens varla til staðar og lítið um börn hans.

En bókin var áhugaverð og það er öllum hollt að reyna að skilja betur þá sem þeir eru ósammála. Kannski að ég gefi öðrum skrifum hans séns.(less)

like · see review

Oct 28, 2012 Jen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: badass, culture, england, essays, family-drama, history, memoir

I read this sort of in conjunction with Mortality - and it was the paperback version, which has an intro describing his diagnosis with cancer. Then the first chapter is about how he once read in a magazine that he was dead. Then the second one is about his mother's suicide.
So, it was a downer at first.
There's some interesting stuff in here. He was present at some interesting times and places in our modern history.
But I had the same problem with this memoir that I had with Speak, Memory and A...more

2 likes · like · see review

Sep 30, 2012 Josiah rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

"It's quite a task to combat the absolutists and the relativist at the same time: to maintain that there is not totalitarian solution while also insisting that, yes, we on our side also have unalterable convictions and are willing to fight for them."

It would be hard to top this memoir for pleasurable reading (listening in my case) experiences. There are many moments where it's a sort of name dropping game, and the experiences of Hitch are more of a who's who of global politics, influence, and cu...more

1 like · like · see review

Sep 03, 2012 Tim rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I've discovered that there is nothing quite as entertaining as watching Christopher Hitchens take part in (and win) a debate. I insist you search for such a debate on YouTube (they are plentiful). After coming upon this witty and ingenious man through YouTube videos, I wanted to know more about him. And, voila: Hitch-22.

Beginning with his family roots and ending with his struggle to find his political identity as well as to come to terms with mortality (and containing in-between his education, p...more

2 likes · like · see review

Sep 01, 2012 Kurt rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Hitchens was a brilliant and complicated man. Both the content and the flow of his writing style made this a joy to read. His candor is not for the faint at heart. He experienced situations which he revealed to the reader that many other men would grip to the grave. It was enlightening to read an autobiography of someone in a totally foreign class-structure of society. It was strange and fascinating. I walk away not knowing if I envy or am repulsed by the British upper class. Hitchens was a mast...more

1 like · like · see review

May 24, 2012 Susan Emmet rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I've long admired Hitchens' work in Mother Jones and other periodicals, but this is the first of his books I've read. I absolutely devoured this memoir, perhaps because of sharing common ground/opinion on a host of subjects over time. We share age - and a past of history and viewpoint. I certainly don't pretend to erudition, but his intellectual and personal struggles ring true to me.
Hitchens tracks his life and work in England, the Mideast, Africa, South America, Bosnia, Iran, Iraq, America and...more

1 like · like · see review

May 04, 2012 James rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: autobiography

One of the very few disappointments of this book was how little it explains Hitchens' political views. He started out, in his youth, as a Marxist radical, even spending a summer in Cuba at a revolutionary boot camp. Later, he carries the mantel of leftism and socialism into his early career as a journalist and extremely well-read bon vivant. But then, somewhere down the road, as he reaches middle age and moves to the US, and after hearing his old comrades' stale rhetoric in reaction to sundry wo...more One of the very few disappointments of this book was how little it explains Hitchens' political views. He started out, in his youth, as a Marxist radical, even spending a summer in Cuba at a revolutionary boot camp. Later, he carries the mantel of leftism and socialism into his early career as a journalist and extremely well-read bon vivant. But then, somewhere down the road, as he reaches middle age and moves to the US, and after hearing his old comrades' stale rhetoric in reaction to sundry world events, he starts to grow stiffer, more (and I don't use this word in a necessarily positive sense) conscientious about life. Then 9/11 and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq happen. He backs these wars but then admits that things haven't gone as well as they should've. And by the time that he's writing his memoir he seems weary, more skeptical and focused on individual integrity... To be honest, I'm not sure I ever understood his political views. What seems clear is that he has a very broad, Enlightenment (or rather humanist) viewpoint that has been both augmented and narrowed by life and world events. The logic behind these periods of contraction and dilation, however, are not very clearly drawn in the memoir. That is my one complaint, modest one that it is--since, I gather, that most of us don't really know completely why we have certain political views or why we persist and stick with political organizations or interest groups even after they've failed us consistently for years.

Anyway, the book as a whole is fantastic. Hitchens picks very broad thematic categories, most of which are the names of significant people or friends from his life, to write about. The stuff about his parents is very heart-wrenching, and one feels certain oedipal strains from his early life carrying forward and shaping the combative machismo of his later life. His mother, who he only refers to in the most affectionate of terms, got married to the wrong person, Hitch's father--an old Naval commander, who after WWII seems to have lost his purpose, and thenceforward spent the rest of his mature life reticent, withdrawn, and stoical. His mother, on the other hand, wanted a lot out of life (and Hitch seemed to live his life to the utmost perhaps to redeem her), but had to suffice with a fairly lackluster, everyday existence in England. One of the most gut-wrenching parts of the memoir is when Hitch talks about her suicide, and thinks of ways that he might've stopped it--and how much he misses her. He finds a lot of existential grist in the telling of her story, and it is quite powerful, as it relates to and seems to define a big part of his life; in particular, as he discovers much later in life the she was Jewish and had hid the fact from him.

Hitch is also sent to boarding school, and this part of the story is definitely the strangest. He sets up this section by explaining that all the terrible stories about British boarding schools are partly correct, but that he also learned a lot while he was there and was prepared better for the world as a consequence. He also had a number of homosexual relationships while at school and explains that he didn't adjust to a genuine heterosexual life until he went off to Oxford. These facts add a layer of intriguing depth to the extremely close relationships with other men he formed in later life, such as with Martin Amis; when Amis is introduced for the second time in the book, Hitch lugubriously describes his looks and persona, and then self-mockingly covers over the hovering ambiguity by reminding his readers that he had, for a bit of his life, genuinely been attracted to men. Anyway, there's a complexity which even Hitch, with his memorably clear and lush prose style, can't quite push out into the open. We, the reader, are simply left intrigued.

There is also name-dropping a plenty in this lengthy book. And Hitch loves to dig into his bag of recondite terms. He used 'suborn' and 'invigilate' each at least four times throughout the book. And then there were at least a dozen other words that I had to look up in the dictionary. But he can certainly write limpid and interesting prose. Even though the book is riddled with digressions (and digressions that sometimes bird-walked over into digressions of previous digressions), he never ceases to make his story interesting. He definitely has a few axes to grind, religion being one of them: and he does give a few brief explanations of what irritates him most about religion and originally turned him into a non-believer.

In the end, I just miss the guy. I might not agree with all of his political views, but listening to him talk was always something eventful and interesting. He had an amazing wit and an inexhaustible store of knowledge to work with. I have no idea where he found the time in his extremely busy life to read all of the books that he did. He must've been a very restless person, unable to sit still unless engaged in some purposeful activity. And that's the lovely bit about this book: throughout you feel like you're communing with the guy himself, experiencing the restlessness of his mind as it digs back into the past and shapes the wonder of it all.

Finally, in its own strange way, Hitch's memoir captures the confusions and contradictions of the last fifty years--the issues and stalemates which now frame for us the daunting daily task of deciding how to live--and gratefully gives us no answers.
(less)

3 likes · like · see review

Apr 29, 2012 John rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

One of the best memoirs I have ever read. A gripping tale on par with The Education of Henry Adams from boyhood through college and public life. The narrative becomes confessional at times when Hitchens imparts deep, hidden secrets that I hesitate to spoil. ALong the way he tosses off clever quips and surprising facts (Lauren Bacall is related to Shimon Peres? Arthur Koestler the great author of Darkness at Noon and his wife had a suicide pact? Joseph Goebbels was best man at Oswald Moseley's we...more

2 likes · like · see review

Apr 26, 2012 Maggie Craig rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is quite a long book - at times I thought it rambled just a wee bit - but its length isn't surprising when you consider how much Christopher Hitchens packed into his life. He was interested in many things, had many friends, and clearly enjoyed life to the full. He also felt deeply for the oppressed of this world and there seem to have been few of the world's trouble spots he hadn't visited and few of the world's intellectuals and political activists with whom he hadn't shared a few drinks,...more

like · see review

Apr 16, 2012 Troy Parfitt rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Something approaching awe

While sending out review copies for my book about China, I warned readers they might find its content polemical, controversial, “politically incorrect,” or whatever. Two reviewers replied ‘not to worry,’ – they liked oppositionist perspectives and were admirers of Christopher Hitchens. I thought, ‘Christopher who?’ Incredibly, I didn’t know who Hitchens was (in 2011, no less), though I knew of his book God is Not Great, which didn’t appeal to me because, pompously perhap...more

like · see review

Apr 16, 2012 Dave Maddock rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audio, biography

Being mainly fan of his polemics against religion, it was with mild disinterest that I listened to this audiobook. I very much admire the languid elegance of his prose and in this he does not disappoint. The best bits are the sections on his early life, his friendships with Amis, Fenton, & Rushdie, becoming a US citizen, and discovering his Jewish roots. The chunks about his socialism and politics were a bore, with the occasional gem tossed in--his part in a riotous college rally and the dea...more

1 like · like · see review

Apr 04, 2012 Peter McC rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

An outstanding read that gives the history behind the development of Christopher Hitchens. I bought the book but then discovered it exists in audio format read by Hitchens himself so I used that format. The only complaint I have with the audio is Christopher tends to lower his voice at the end of some sentences but still worth listening to in his own voice.

I especially like his reasoning for moving away from the Left side of politics even though I don't agree with a lot of his pro war thoughts....more

like · see review

Jan 18, 2012 Matt rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: biography-memoir, non-fiction, war, travel, political

There are times I read Hitchens and I'm blown away by his writing abilities, and then there are other times I think he's just trying to flex nuts... there were a good handful of those in his memoirs, hence the 3 stars. That said, the man is incredibly eloquent, and staggeringly well read.

A note: As an atheist, I would consider myself something of a Hitchens admirer, but I've had trouble reconciling his leftism with his support for the war in Iraq, and I have a few quick thoughts on that. Though...more There are times I read Hitchens and I'm blown away by his writing abilities, and then there are other times I think he's just trying to flex nuts... there were a good handful of those in his memoirs, hence the 3 stars. That said, the man is incredibly eloquent, and staggeringly well read.

A note: As an atheist, I would consider myself something of a Hitchens admirer, but I've had trouble reconciling his leftism with his support for the war in Iraq, and I have a few quick thoughts on that. Though the man seems to be mildly insecure and also a bit of a bully, I think he has some incredible integrity when it comes to issues of antitotalitarianism. This is at the root of his atheism (or anti-theism, as he calls it), and it is the common strand in most of his political stances. He was fair enough to condemn Stalinism rather than playing a game of coy apologetics with others on the left, and he has the balls to side with the U.S. when they do something right. That said, my sense was that Hitchens wasn't so much a neocon as he was an internationalist and, as a result, an interventionist. He admits in the book to being appalled by the incompetence of the Bush administration in Iraq, as well as ashamed of the looting of the Baghdad Museum, Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, and the absurd and sadistic Cheney policy around torture.

My point is: being for anti-fascist intervention shouldn't be looked down upon on the left. Is Iraq now better off than it was under Saddam? Who knows? It wasn't done properly, and that might lead to backsliding. But - and this is coming from a guy who decided he was left-wing at 16 when the Iraq Invasion first happened - I think his position in itself is admirable. His defense of the aftermath I chalk up to a mix of stubbornness and a realization that no war goes smoothly. At the end of the day, those of us on the left shouldn't disown Hitchens as one of ours. We shouldn't be a peacenik movement that doesn't stand up for right and wrong in the name of pacifism. While I don't totally agree with him on this and a lot of other things, the man deserves credit. His only serious blindness, as far as I can see, is in believing religion is the ROOT of the problem. It's an aspect, and this blindness might've pushed him to take some otherwise disturbing views.

Also, I loved hearing that he either read or hung out with my other two literary heroes: Vonnegut and Hunter Thompson. Rock on, Hitch.(less)

2 likes · like · see review

Jan 03, 2012 Will rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: biography, politics

I had actually just started reading this when Hitchens died. It’s a very dense read requiring extreme concentration as the literary and political allusions are thick on the pages. But it was well worth it as H is passionate about what he believes in and argues brilliantly. And the population density in this book (see the cast of characters in the blurb above)! It sounds like name-dropping but he knew virtually all of them.
He makes much of his split with the Left but much of that sounds rather li...more

3 likes · like · see review

Jan 01, 2012 Jorge rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: atheism-religion

Hitch 22: A Memoir Christopher Hitchens

"Hitch 22" is the memoir of famed atheist, journalist and citizen of the world, Christopher Hitchens. An interesting albeit at times dense book, Mr. Hitchens the self-proclaimed insecure polemic icon takes us on a unique ride of a life. This 448-page book is composed of the following chapters: Yvonne; The Commander; Fragments from an Education; Cambridge; The Sixties; Revolution in the Revolution; Chris or Christopher?; Havana versus Prague; The Fenton Fact...more

1 like · like · see review

Dec 06, 2011 Loy Machedo rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Had I known how impossibly hard, arduous and excruciating this addictive piece of a memoir would be to complete reading, in all humility, I would have never touched it, let alone read it. In fact, I would keep away from any outlet that even sold this book. For nearly 48 days it took me the courage to get back and read yet another page of this masterpiece. It was as suffocating and gut wrenching as the time when I had my appendix inflamed and explode inside me and had to mercilessly await for the...more

like · see review

Nov 18, 2011 Harpal rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

As usual, Christopher Hitchens delivers his views with verve and humour. Unfortunately, his life memoir devolves into such a nauseating string of dropped names and soirees that it's at times intolerable. That more or less explains my poor rating. However, I did thoroughly enjoy, and indeed was even at times inspired by, his own personal adventures seeking out national liberation leaders, haranguing modern-day fascists for their crimes, and calling attention to ever neglected human rights abuses...more

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 99 100 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
Hitch 22	7	67	Oct 24, 2012 03:06pm
fdsfs	1	43	Jan 20, 2012 11:37pm

combine
Other Editions (30)

More editions...

Genres

Non Fiction

238 users

Biography

193 users

Autobiography > Memoir

110 users

Biography > Autobiography

52 users

Politics

49 users

Writing > Journalism

27 users

Biography Memoir

24 users

History

21 users

Religion > Atheism

21 users

Philosophy

19 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Christopher Hitchens

"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

More about Christopher Hitchens...

Books by Christopher Hitchens

God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything

The Portable Atheist: Essential Readings for the Nonbeliever

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About Hitch-22: A Memoir

1 trivia question

More quizzes & trivia...

Quotes from Hitch-22: A Memoir

“What do you most value in your friends?
Their continued existence.” — 228 people liked it

“What is it you most dislike? Stupidity, especially in its nastiest forms of racism and superstition.” — 212 people liked it

More quotes…

title link	preview: Hitch-22: A Memoir
avg rating	preview: Hitch-22: A Memoir Goodreads rating: 3.99 (6182 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8333871-hitch-22?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1275165660l/8333871.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8333871-hitch-22?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Hitch-22: A Memoir by Christopher Hitchens[/url]

Hitch-22: A Memoir

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website