Hitch-22: A Memoir

Over the last thirty years Christopher Hitchens has established himself as one of the world's most influential public intellectuals. His originality, bravery, range and wit made him first a leading iconoclast of the political left, and then later a formidable advocate of secular liberalism. As a socialist he opposed the war in Vietnam, after September 11 he emerged as one of the fiercest advocates of war in Iraq. In this long-awaited and candid memoir, Hitchens re-traces the footsteps of his life to date, from his childhood in Portsmouth with his adoring, tragic mother and reserved Naval officer father; to his life in Washington DC, the base from which he would launch fierce attacks on tyranny of all kinds. Along the way, he recalls the girls, boys and booze; the friendships and the feuds; the grand struggles and lost causes; and the mistakes and misgivings that have characterised his life. Hitch-22 is, by turns, moving and funny, charming and irascible and inspiring. It is an indispensable companion to the life and thought of an outstanding political writer.