Brian Williams has offended many with his invocation of the ‘beauty’ of the weapons fired into Syria on Thursday. But he is right: war and its weapons are beautiful, and we are surrounded by them; we succumb all to easily to their embrace, to the clarion call of war, precisely because we find them beautiful. AsContinue reading “Brian Williams Is Right: War Is Beautiful, And We Are Fascinated By It”
Tag Archives: Christopher Hitchens
Polygamy And Joseph Smith’s Convenient Revelations
In Under The Banner Of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith, Jon Krakauer cites Fawn Brodie‘s No Man Knows My History, her classic biography of Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism: Monogamy seemed to him–as it has seemed to many men who have not ceased to love their wives, but who have grown weary ofContinue reading “Polygamy And Joseph Smith’s Convenient Revelations”
Christopher Hitchens: Pro-War, Anti-Death Penalty
A few days ago, Corey Robin wondered on his Facebook status: Something I never understood about Christopher Hitchens: how such a fervent opponent of the death penalty could be such an avid supporter of war. Supporters of the death penalty, of course, are notoriously fond of war (they also tend to be ‘pro-life’ in theContinue reading “Christopher Hitchens: Pro-War, Anti-Death Penalty”
(Coded) Messages in Bottles
As part of his continuing series on free speech in Asia, Timothy Garton Ash turns his attention to Burma–the land of military juntas and Aung San Suu Kyi–and points us to some deft work to get around its censors’ pen: Thirteen years ago, editors of tiny magazines in dim, cramped offices showed me examples ofContinue reading “(Coded) Messages in Bottles”
Christopher Buckley and Dipsomania: Apparently Hard To Let It Go
The writers of great literature often supply us mere mortals with memorable lines, especially if they serve as the openers for their works. Thus, for instance, Tolstoy‘s Taxonomy of the Family, which kicks off Anna Karenina: All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. This serves as raw material for endless variationsContinue reading “Christopher Buckley and Dipsomania: Apparently Hard To Let It Go”
Fish on Eagleton on Religion
Stanley Fish reviews Terry Eagleton‘s Reason, Faith and Revolution in The New York Times and approvingly quotes him contra the excesses of Christopher Hitchens: [T]he fact that religion and theology cannot provide a technology for explaining how the material world works should not be held against them, either, for that is not what they do. When Christopher Hitchens declares thatContinue reading “Fish on Eagleton on Religion”
Katha Pollitt, George Orwell, Essayists and Posterity
For a couple of days now, Katha Pollitt’s obit/remembrance of Christopher Hitchens has been making the rounds to near-universal adulation. For good reasons; the piece is well worth a read, especially as it highlights aspects of Hitchens’ writing and personality that few have seen fit to focus on (especially not by his drinking buddies, whoseContinue reading “Katha Pollitt, George Orwell, Essayists and Posterity”
Ross Douthat, Sophistry, and Getting Philip Larkin Wrong
Folks familiar with Ross Douthat’s writing over at the New York Times should be well clued-on to his style, which produces bits of meandering sophistry that include a sentence or two toward the end giving away the game. In those sentences, Douthat reveals the tension of maintaining the appearance of a sophisticated intellectual conservative isContinue reading “Ross Douthat, Sophistry, and Getting Philip Larkin Wrong”
The Decline and Fall of Christopher Hitchens
I have no talents to speak of; all I can do is read and write. Thus, it would make eminent sense for me to admire those that read a great deal, and write really well. Christopher Hitchens evidently read a lot, and he wielded his pen and keyboard with great flair. He was also aContinue reading “The Decline and Fall of Christopher Hitchens”
Samir Chopra 