Christopher Hitchens dies after battle with cancer

[alva]

Christopher Hitchens dies after battle with cancer


Writer Christopher Hitchens Vanity Fair's editor said those who read him felt they knew him

British author, literary critic and journalist Christopher Hitchens has died, aged 62, according to Vanity Fair magazine.

He died from pneumonia, a complication of the esophageal cancer he was suffering from, at a Texas hospital.

Vanity Fair said there would "never be another like Christopher".

He is survived by his wife, Carol Blue, and their daughter, Antonia, and his children from a previous marriage, Alexander and Sophia.

Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter described the writer as someone "of ferocious intellect, who was as vibrant on the page as he was at the bar".

"Those who read him felt they knew him, and those who knew him were profoundly fortunate souls."

Mr Hitchens was born in Portsmouth, in 1949 and graduated from Oxford in 1970. He became contributing editor to Vanity Fair in November 1992.
Prolific writer

He wrote for numerous publications including The Times Literary Supplement, the Daily Express, the London Evening Standard, Newsday and The Atlantic.

He was the author of 17 books, including The Trial of Henry Kissinger, God is not Great, How Religion Poisons Everything, and a memoir, Hitch-22.

Arguably, a collection of his essays, was released this year.

Well, so far I was drinking for no good reason, wee...!!!! Now I do!!!!!

I will ****ing miss you man..; damn....


* pours another J&B *

[Imran Siddiqui]

R.I.P.

[Uncle Sparky]

Another Hero enters Valhalla!

[onodera]

Another Hero enters Valhalla!

He'll be pretty surprised if he does.

[kentonio]

[Kidlicious]

I always felt sorry for him. He was very smart and a good debater.

[Berzerker]

[Zevico]

He wrote an article for the January 2012 edition of Vanity Fair. It makes for interesting reading.

Trial of the Will
Reviewing familiar principles and maxims in the face of mortal illness, Christopher Hitchens has found one of them increasingly ridiculous: “Whatever doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.” Oh, really? Take the case of the philosopher to whom that line is usually attributed, Friedrich Nietzsche, who lost his mind to what was probably syphilis. Or America’s homegrown philosopher Sidney Hook, who survived a stroke and wished he hadn’t. Or, indeed, the author, viciously weakened by the very medicine that is keeping him alive.

http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2012/01/hitchens-201201

[Guynemer]

He was the epitome of the lovable *******.

I'm gonna miss reading his stuff. Didn't always agree with him, but I always came away smarter. Sad loss.

[Kidlicious]

He wrote an article for the January 2012 edition of Vanity Fair. It makes for interesting reading.

Trial of the Will
Reviewing familiar principles and maxims in the face of mortal illness, Christopher Hitchens has found one of them increasingly ridiculous: “Whatever doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.” Oh, really? Take the case of the philosopher to whom that line is usually attributed, Friedrich Nietzsche, who lost his mind to what was probably syphilis. Or America’s homegrown philosopher Sidney Hook, who survived a stroke and wished he hadn’t. Or, indeed, the author, viciously weakened by the very medicine that is keeping him alive.

http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/20...itchens-201201

Btw, "whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger" isn't biblical wisdom.

[Zevico]

Btw, "whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger" isn't biblical wisdom.

Perfectly true, but what of it?

[Kidlicious]

He used to take advantage of people's ignorance and make nonarguments.

[Elok]

Let's not go bashing the dude before his corpse is cold. Yes, he was an outspoken (and sometimes rather rude) atheist. He won't be saying anything else bad about Christianity/Islam/whatever, so we might as well let it go. Pray for his soul.

He'll be pretty surprised if he does.

He'd probably still prefer that to meeting Mohammed at the Gates. Anyway, RIP.

[onodera]

He wrote an article for the January 2012 edition of Vanity Fair. It makes for interesting reading.

Trial of the Will
Reviewing familiar principles and maxims in the face of mortal illness, Christopher Hitchens has found one of them increasingly ridiculous: “Whatever doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.” Oh, really? Take the case of the philosopher to whom that line is usually attributed, Friedrich Nietzsche, who lost his mind to what was probably syphilis. Or America’s homegrown philosopher Sidney Hook, who survived a stroke and wished he hadn’t. Or, indeed, the author, viciously weakened by the very medicine that is keeping him alive.

http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/20...itchens-201201

That's a very good article. As someone who knows this life is all we've got, I really dread having to endure such suffering at the end.

[The Mad Monk]

There is a part of me that responds, "then die now; it's not like you're going to regret it after you're dead, right?"