Scan barcode
A review by drifterontherun
The Enemy by Christopher Hitchens
4.0
Remember when the debate back in 2011 was whether it was appropriate to celebrate one man's death? The sight of cheering crowds in front of the White House following The President's speech announcing the death of Osama Bin Laden left many feeling uncomfortable. Bin Laden was, after all, just another human being, flawed though he may have been. Such was the thinking at the time. Hitchens calls Bin Laden what he was- an evil islamofascist whose death, much like those of Hitler and Stalin, was well worth cheering. Just so long as the greater fight against his nasty brand of religious tyranny wasn't abandoned.
Berating those who call Bin Laden an anti-imperialist, anti-colonialist hero alongside those like Che Guevara, Hitchens throws the facts at him, calling Bin Laden and his psychopathic goons exactly what they are- islamofascists pushing an authoritarian regime of terror and ignorance.
Reading Christopher Hitchens is to be reminded of the man's brilliance and to bemoan the fact that he's no longer with us. As much as I love Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris, not even they are capable of summoning the total resonance I felt when reading or listening to the incomparable Hitchens tear down one of society's sacred cows, be it religion, Mother Teresa, Henry Kissinger, Bill Clinton, or any number of others. Hitchens was so good at saying what everyone else was afraid to say. And he does so here. Classic Hitch.
Berating those who call Bin Laden an anti-imperialist, anti-colonialist hero alongside those like Che Guevara, Hitchens throws the facts at him, calling Bin Laden and his psychopathic goons exactly what they are- islamofascists pushing an authoritarian regime of terror and ignorance.
Reading Christopher Hitchens is to be reminded of the man's brilliance and to bemoan the fact that he's no longer with us. As much as I love Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris, not even they are capable of summoning the total resonance I felt when reading or listening to the incomparable Hitchens tear down one of society's sacred cows, be it religion, Mother Teresa, Henry Kissinger, Bill Clinton, or any number of others. Hitchens was so good at saying what everyone else was afraid to say. And he does so here. Classic Hitch.