Christopher Hitchens

Christopher Eric Hitchens was a British-American author, journalist, and public intellectual who is widely regarded as one of the most influential atheists of the 20th and 21st centuries. He wrote 18 books and numerous articles on various subjects such as religion, politics, culture, and literature. He was known for his sharp wit, eloquence, and polemical style. He was also a prolific debater and speaker who challenged many prominent figures on their views and beliefs. Hitchens was born in Portsmouth, England, in 1949. His father was a naval officer and his mother was a bookkeeper. He had a younger brother, Peter, who also became a journalist and author. Hitchens attended boarding schools and then studied philosophy, politics, and economics at Balliol College, Oxford. He graduated in 1970 with a third-class degree. Hitchens began his career as a journalist in Britain in the 1970s. He wrote for various publications such as The New Statesman, The Daily Express, The Evening Standard, and The Times Literary Supplement. He was influenced by the radical left-wing movements of the time and joined the International Socialists, a Trotskyist group. He was also an outspoken critic of the Vietnam War, the Catholic Church, and the monarchy. In 1981, Hitchens moved to the United States and became a contributing editor to The Nation and Vanity Fair. He also wrote for other magazines such as The Atlantic, Harper's, Slate, and The Weekly Standard. He became a US citizen in 2007. He continued to write on a wide range of topics, often taking controversial or contrarian positions. He supported the US-led interventions in Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan; he endorsed George W. Bush for re-election in 2004; he denounced Bill Clinton, Henry Kissinger, Mother Teresa, and Princess Diana; he defended Salman Rushdie against the fatwa issued by Ayatollah Khomeini; he advocated for free speech, secularism, human rights, and scientific inquiry. Hitchens was also one of the leading figures of the New Atheism movement that emerged after the September 11 attacks. He wrote his best-selling book God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything in 2007. In it, he argued that religion is irrational, harmful, and authoritarian. He also criticized the major monotheistic faiths of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He engaged in many debates with religious apologists and believers on topics such as morality, ethics, faith, reason, and evidence. Hitchens was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer in June 2010. He documented his illness and treatment in his Vanity Fair column. He also wrote his memoir Hitch-22: A Memoir that same year. He continued to write and speak until his death in December 2011 at the age of 62. He died from pneumonia, a complication of his cancer. Hitchens is widely regarded as one of the most influential writers and thinkers of his generation. He is remembered for his courage, honesty, intelligence, and humour. He has been praised by many admirers and friends such as Salman Rushdie, Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett, Ian McEwan, Martin Amis, Stephen Fry, James Fenton, Graydon Carter, and others. He has also been criticized by many detractors and enemies such as Noam Chomsky, Gore Vidal, Glenn Greenwald,Tariq Ali, George Galloway, Al Sharpton, and others. He has received many awards and honours for his work, such as the Orwell Prize, the National Magazine Award, the PEN,Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award, and the Lannan Literary Award. He has also been named as one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2007 and one of the 25 most influential liberals in the US media by Forbes magazine in 2009.