For the Sake of Argument for the Sake of Argument: Essays and Minority Reports

by Christopher Hitchens

Book Overview

'For the sake of argument, one must never let a euphemism or a false consolation pass uncontested. The truth seldom lies, but when it does lie it lies somewhere in between.'. The global turmoil of the last few years has severely tested every analyst and commentator. Few have written with such insight as Christopher Hitchens about the large events - or with such discernment and with about the small tell-tale signs of a disordered culture. For the Sake...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0860916286
• ISBN13: 9780860916284
• Release Date: September 1994
• Publisher: Verso
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.2" x 9.2"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary

Customer Reviews

expose on several topics

expose on several topicsnot always an easy read if you are not familiar or itnerested in the particular subject that christopher is writing about

The epicure and the moralist

I became familiar with Mr.Hitchens' work through his Vanity Fair articles where I became intrigued that a publication that devotes much of its space to the ongoings in the Hamptons and the biceps of Tom Cruise would publish such a pungent and brilliant observer of monarchy, faith, Congress and the lies of the rich and famous.In the meantime he has become quite a household name and I'm afraid some of the exposure, the networking and the various stints on not so objective and erudite Pol talkshows have somewhat mildened his capacity to irritate with truth. But this volume and "Prepared For The Worst" are topnotch and it's a pleasure to follow him to wherever his curiosity takes him. It is a rare man who can skewer the follies of the policies towards Nicaragua, the smug "humor" of the darling of the neo-con set P.K.O'Rourke and relish in the joys of uncensored boozing, cigarette smoking as a tool for thinking and pleasure( or in the least nobody else's business) and the merits of any pleasure that is private and not available through an ad or state sponsored through the family values crowd. These essays read like the work of a strong idealist who has the brain power and nerve to back up his findings.

Best living political essayist in US/UK

Growing up in the 70s and 80s, I naturally learned a contempt for journalism as it is currently practiced. The great problem with journalists today, seems to me, is not their slavish conformity, their scandal-mongering, or even their sales-and-marketing obsession with the bottom line. It is their LACK OF IDEAS. They have little or no training in logic, history, aesthetics, or any of the other arts that are necessary if one is to continually shed light on the present.Christopher Hitchens, by contrast, has all of these things. I bought this book three years ago and have read it through more times than I can remember. It makes intelligible sense of almost every major event that occurred during the late 80s and early 90s. To boot, it is witty and entertaining. If you feel suffocated by the evening news, NPR, the New York Times, and other demographically-tailored drivel, buy this book and everything else Hitchens has published.

How to survive 3 weeks in Canberra.

December 1995 - I have been sent to Australia's national capitol for 3 weeks to undertake testing of some new software for my employer. Any one who has been to Canberra knows that it is like any other purpose built national capitol - some stately buildings, a certain amount of intellectual grandeur about the place but otherwise a giant surburb infected by too much narcotic abuse.It was in this environment I read this book and it saved my sanity (if not my life). I was loaned a paperback copy by my hostess's housemate after watching Hitchens perform brilliantly as part of a panel discussing Watergate which also included G Gordon Liddy - after sitting through a 5 minute tirade by Liddy, the interviewer (Australia's Kerry O'Brien) said "Christopher Hitchens" to which Hitchens responded as if just woken from sleep with the words "Err yes? Do you want me to plug my book?" At that point I decided I must read (if not purchase) that book.And the book - any writer who can work PG Wodehouse into a critique of the Gennifer Flowers phenomenon gets my stamp of approval.Hitchens's critiques and analysis are taut, energetic and yet also built upon the relaxed auro of the supremely confident without (much) arrogance. And even if he does get a bit smug, it's still highly entertaining and more informative than any comparative writing. Most impressive (on the "quality" side of things) is the breadth of subjects he covers - all the way from George Eliot (yeah, I know that one's on the blurb) to smokin' 'n' drinkin' via Nixon's mother. And there are no half-arsed marsupial metaphors as in his piece on Robert Hughes in Vanity Fair.Buy this book and become a better smart arse.