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Mr Steve Wasserman, Christopher Hitchens' literary agent, kindly replied to my query about a possible memorial. Posted with permission. ...
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May 12, 2010. The Veritas Forum. Christopher Hitchens debates John Haldane on 'We Don't Do God'? Secularism and Faith in the Pub...
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By Christopher Hitchens Ever since Tom Lehrer recorded his imperishable anti-Christmas ditty all those years ago, the small but growing... -
Why Evolution Is True has a great post on Hitchens encounter with 8 year old Mason, who wanted to know what books she should read. Read... -
Jeremy Paxman interviews Christopher Hitchens in Washington D.C. Full interview on BBC2, Nov 29, 7.30pm.
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June 1, 2010. Christopher Hitchens interviewed on BBC on his memoir Hitch-22.
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Questioning the moral heroism of India’s most revered figure. By Christopher Hitchens "JOSEPH LELYVELD SUBTLY tips his hand in his... -
In The Year of Magical Thinking, the 2005 best-seller, Joan Didion dissected the trauma of losing her husband, John Gregory Dunne. With Blue...
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4 comments:
Wonderfully fluent and heartfelt words from Simon Schama. Thankyou.
These news items all state that Mr Hitchens was killed by cancer. That doesn't seem accurate to me. From what I know he was killed by an infection, which his body couldn't resist because his immune system had been decimated by chemotherapy - which is to say that his cause of death was iatrogenic - the treatment killed him, not the disease.
Christopher Hitchens was killed by chemotherapy and pneumonia, or some combination of opportunistic ptathogens, not cancer.
Not that it matters, but I happen to have incurable tongue cancer, so I'm probably somewhat familiar with the treatment regimen Mr Hitchens endured before his passing, so please understand I'm not trying to belittle his struggle or dignity. Quite on the contrary, the bravery he showed in the face of his deteriorating health is of a piece with the rest of his life. It's heartening to see people like Schama affirm the value of his commitment to truth, the basic integrity he held that deserves respect also from those like myself who often disagreed with his opinions.
Becky, I understand from what others have written that Mr Hitchens' life was extended by the treatments, although, not to the extent the world had hoped. You describe your cancer as incurable but hopefully it can be healed.
Love the comparison to Hemingway. Two of the most brilliant writers to grace literature. Thank you, Hitch.
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