Letters to a Young Contrarian
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From bestselling author and provocateur Christopher Hitchens, the classic guide to the art of principled dissent and disagreement.
“Hitchens is, first and last, a writer, an always exciting, often exacting, furious polemicist.” -The Boston Globe
In Letters to a Young Contrarian, Christopher Hitchens inspires the radicals, gadflies, mavericks, rebels, and angry...
From bestselling author and provocateur Christopher Hitchens, the classic guide to the art of principled dissent and disagreement.
“Hitchens is, first and last, a writer, an always exciting, often exacting, furious polemicist.” -The Boston Globe
In Letters to a Young Contrarian, Christopher Hitchens inspires the radicals, gadflies, mavericks, rebels, and angry young people of tomorrow. Exploring the entire range of “contrary positions”—from noble dissident to gratuitous nag—Hitchens introduces the next generation to the minds and the misfits who influenced him, invoking such mentors as Emile Zola, Rosa Parks, and George Orwell.
As is his trademark, Hitchens pointedly pitches himself in contrast to stagnant attitudes across the ideological spectrum. No other writer has matched Hitchens’s understanding of the importance of disagreement—to personal integrity, to informed discussion, to true progress, to democracy itself.
Published By Basic Books
Format Paperback
Number Of Pages 160
Publication Date 04/13/2005
ISBN 9780465030330
Dimensions 4.95 inches x 7.95 inches
“[Hitchens] is, first and last, a writer, an always exciting, often exacting, furious polemicist.”—The Boston Globe
“Hitchens exhibits precisely the combination of indignation and intellect that he recommends to others.”—The New York Times Book Review
“Letters show Hitchens's best...He makes entertaining mincemeat of self-satisfied politicians and shreds received ideas and media-spun consensus with a fearlessness that is invaluable in our mealymouthed punditocracy.”—The Village Voice
“Delicious...[Letters to a Young Contrarian] showcases Hitchens at his most savage and wise.”—The Progressive
“Part revolutionist, part court jester, he is possessed of a wickedly effective prose style and a sense of moral purpose...True democracy could not exist without Christopher Hitchens and his ilk. May this book breed many more contrarians, young and old alike.”—Time Out New York