Christopher Hitchens is one of the most prolific and controversial writers in the English-speaking world. A prominent atheist, he is the author of "God is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything," which became an international best-seller in 2007. He has also written books on topics ranging from the partition of Cyprus to Thomas Jefferson and the Anglo-American relationship; his most recent is the memoir "Hitch 22." RFE/RL writer at large James Kirchick recently interviewed Hitchens at his home in Washington about his left-wing revolutionary past, his views on America, Iran's nuclear program, Turkey's Islamist turn, Putin's Russia, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and sampled his views on a variety of international figures. Hitchens' first book was a history of Cyprus, the Mediterranean island invaded by Turkey in 1974. He has closely followed Turkey's internal politics and here discusses the debate over whether it should join the European Union.
Showing posts with label Christopher. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christopher. Show all posts
2010/09/29
Christopher Hitchens in Conversation with Salman Rushdie at the 92nd Street Y
92Y Lectures & Conversations: www.92y.org Introduced by Graydon Carter at the 92nd Street Y, Jun 8, 2010, Hitchens was interviewed by Salman Rushdie. They spoke of Hitchens' searing memoir entitled Hitch 22 that lays bare the many contradictions in his life and affirms his conviction that all personal is also political. Christopher Hitchens is a contributing editor to Vanity Fair and a visiting professor of liberal studies at the New School. He is the author of numerous books, including works on Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, George Orwell, Mother Teresa, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Henry Kissinger and his #1 New York Times bestseller and National Book Award nominee, God Is Not Great. Follow 92Y on Twitter: Twitter.com on Facebook: Facebook Read more on the 92Y Blog: Blog.92Y.org 92Y Lectures & Conversations www.92y.org
2010/09/08
Christopher Hitchens - The Rise of Atheism - ABC
A large convention of atheists gathered in Virginia, where men, women and children eagerly proclaimed their belief God does not exist. While their views still may be the minority in the country, atheists have become more vocal and visible in recent years. T-shirts, bumper stickers and even rap songs proclaim atheists' beliefs. Atheist summer camps now exist for children. "Over the last 20 years," said Alan Wolfe of Boston College, "the number of people willing to tell people in surveys that they don't believe in God have pretty much doubled." Books denying God's existence have topped bestseller lists, and Congress has its first self-proclaimed atheist, Rep. Pete Stark, D-Calif. "A lot of respectable people are coming out and saying they are very happy to dispel the myths of the Bible," said Margaret Downey of Atheist Alliance International. Some atheists said their profile has increased because of a rise in religious extremism, like the Islamic fundamentalism behind the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 and the rise of the Christian right in the United States. Gathering of the Godless Meanwhile, the Internet has helped unite non-believers. In fact, this weekend's convention sold out, and had a waiting list of 600 people. Besides listening to speakers, convention attendees can buy merchandise like a born-again-atheist hat, atheist-on-board signs for those with kids, or after-the-rapture mints. They also had the opportunity to mingle with celebrity atheists like authors ...
Hottest Deals Outlet Online Creme Brulee Torch Sony Bluray Disc Player
2010/06/23
Christopher C. Horner Covers The Scientific Dictatorship Under Obama on Alex Jones Tv 1 4
Alex talks with attorney and author Christopher C. Horner, a Senior Fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. Mr. Horner has represented CEI as well as scientists and members of the US House and Senate on matters of environmental policy in the federal courts including the Supreme Court. He writes for legal and industrial trade journals and online opinion pages. Mr. Horner is the author of two best-selling books: Red Hot Lies: How Global Warming Alarmists Use Threats, Fraud and Deception to Keep You Misinformed and The Politically Incorrect Guide to Global Warming and Environmentalism, which spent half of 2007 on the New York Times bestseller list. His latest book is Power Grab: How Obama's Green Policies Will Steal Your Freedom and Bankrupt America. cei.org www.infowars.com www.priosnplanet.tv
2010/06/19
The Rise of Atheism - ABC additional Christopher Hitchens
A large convention of atheists gathered today in Virginia, where men, women and children eagerly proclaimed their belief God does not exist. While their views still may be the minority in the country, atheists have become more vocal and visible in recent years. T-shirts, bumper stickers and even rap songs proclaim atheists' beliefs. Atheist summer camps now exist for children. "Over the last 20 years," said Alan Wolfe of Boston College, "the number of people willing to tell people in surveys that they don't believe in God have pretty much doubled." Books denying God's existence have topped bestseller lists, and Congress has its first self-proclaimed atheist, Rep. Pete Stark, D-Calif. "A lot of respectable people are coming out and saying they are very happy to dispel the myths of the Bible," said Margaret Downey of Atheist Alliance International. Some atheists said their profile has increased because of a rise in religious extremism, like the Islamic fundamentalism behind the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 and the rise of the Christian right in the United States. Gathering of the Godless Meanwhile, the Internet has helped unite non-believers. In fact, this weekend's convention sold out, and had a waiting list of 600 people. Besides listening to speakers, convention attendees can buy merchandise like a born-again-atheist hat, atheist-on-board signs for those with kids, or after-the-rapture mints. They also had the opportunity to mingle with celebrity atheists like authors ...
2010/04/11
Into the Wild - The Book and Feature Film About Christopher McCandless
Into the Wild is the best-selling non-fiction book by Jon Krakauer. Telling the story of Christopher McCandless, a young wanderer and adventurer who succumbed to starvation and died in the Alaskan wilderness, the book spent more than two years on the New York Times bestseller list when it was first published in 1996.
On September 21st, the movie directed by Sean Penn and based upon Into the Wild will be released. It's already receiving stellar reviews from the film festival circuit and I suspect that the movie will impact people in the same way that the book did. The story of Chris McCandless is simultaneously tragic, dumb-founding, irritating and passionately moving.
I 'm a big fan of Jon Krakauer and its primarily because of this book, Into the Wild, and his other book, Into Thin Air, about the ill-fated Everest expedition in 1996 that turned into a total disaster. All of his books are excellent, but Into the Wild is definitely my favorite book of the bunch and also the first book I read by him. Into Thin Air is brilliant as well, but Into the Wild really guts me. The movie trailer for Into the Wild has an incredible effect on me as well. So far it's made me cry every time I watch it. It gives me shivers. I've never been crazy about the other films directed by Sean Penn, they are kind of dreary, but I am really looking forward to this one.
Since the story behind it is just one of those things that grabs people, I expect it will be one of those movies that people talk about. The book itself spent two years on the bestseller list and it really is just an incredible and heart-breaking story -- and also tends to be controversial since people have such markedly different opinions about Chris and his decisions -- was he a fool or a visionary? My personal opinion is that he was both and I don't think I'm alone in thinking so.
If you've never read the book, I highly recommend it. Regardless of how you feel about Christopher McCandless when you come away from it, Krakauer is an absolutely gripping storyteller.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)