Christopher Hitchens (born April 26, 1949) is an English journalist, author, and self-proclaimed political gadfly. He currently lives in Washington, DC in the United States. Over the years he has written for a variety of different publications, including Vanity Fair, The Nation, Harper's, and The New Yorker.
Hitchens is well-known for his ruffled and hard-drinking persona, as well as his unpredictable political views. A prolific writer, he has written many books and articles over the years on a variety of very controversial subjects. One book condemned Mother Teresa as a self-serving egotist. Another, No One Left To Lie To, was a fierce denunciation of Bill Clinton. A more recent tome put Henry Kissinger "on trial" as a world-class war criminal. He has also written a book-length appreciation of George Orwell.
Though once regarded as a stalwart member of the Anglo-American left, Hitchens has recently made ferocious attacks on those leftists whom he regards as "unrepentant Stalinists". He has also been taking aim at leading radicals, such as Noam Chomsky, whom he accuses of being soft on what he calls "Islamofascism". His support of the 2003 Invasion of Iraq led to a cutting of ties with the radical left and to his resignation from his post as a long-time columnist for the left-wing magazine The Nation. Hitchens has recently been linked to the American neoconservative movement, but he does not accept the label himself.
External links
- The Christopher Hitchens Web, columns, articles, interviews, etc.
- Fraternally yours, Chris. By Norman Finkelstein.
- A few words of fraternal admonition to "Norm" Finkelstein