Why Orwell Matters

“Not only a fine defense of Orwell's politics, but also the most stimulating introduction available to almost every other aspect of his work.”—The Sunday Telegraph (London)

“Why Orwell Matters makes a strong cumulative case. In an age when most novelists would scorn the notion that their work serves any utilitarian or didactic purpose, Hitchens argues that George Orwell not only fought against the tyranny of his own time but bequeathed works that continue to inspire.”—Jim Barloon, Houston Chronicle

“In possession of, [and] possessed by, the spirit of George Orwell.”—Ron Rosenbaum, The New York Observer

“Hitchens presents a George Orwell fit for the twenty-first century.”—The Boston Globe

“Hitchens on Orwell is a fine salute from one very lively writer to another formidably clear-eyed one.”—The Globe and Mail

“Hitchens comes, in this short, gracefully written and admirably...literate book, not only to praise Orwell but also to set right certain persistent misunderstandings about him.”—George Scialabba, The Washington Post Book World

“A vigorous and comprehensive attack on the traducers of the Left, the false claimants on the Right, hostile feminists, and postmodernists who deny the existence of objective truth and spurn the value of linguistic clarity.”—Philip French, The Times Literary Supplement

“A good, forcefully argued introduction...Existing devotees should thank Mr. Hitchens for stripping off layers of ideological over-paint.”—The Economist

“I have been asked whether I wish to nominate a successor, an inheritor, a dauphin or delphino. I have decided to name Christopher Hitchens.”—Gore Vidal