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krobart's review against another edition
3.0
Hitchens is sharp and witty. I laughed out loud frequently even if I didn’t agree with him. However, if you are not very familiar with the events he discusses, he is sometimes hard to follow. And since these are essays, he does not cite his sources. Sometimes he states things as facts that make me wonder where he got his information. However, he is far more informed than I am.
See my complete review here:
http://whatmeread.wordpress.com/tag/love-poverty-and-war/
See my complete review here:
http://whatmeread.wordpress.com/tag/love-poverty-and-war/
mattycakesbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Hitchens is, as usual, all sorts of awesome. This is a great book mostly because it gives you a glimpse into Hitchens just before he became known as a "neocon" for his support of the invasion of Iraq, and before he was known less as a journalist and more as an atheist.
In the essays in this book, you can see what drives the man, what makes him who he is, and why he is such a massive intellectual force. Neocon is a massive misnomer for a man who is fairly radical in his humanism and anti-theism. At his core, Hitchens proves himself to be a product of his generation, the English generation born just after the end of WWII. At his core, Hitchens is simply an anti-fascist. This anti-fascism made him a figurehead of the left in his earlier years, and this same impulse made him defend Salman Rushdie and his ilk (Theo van Gogh, Ayaan Hirsi Ali), and, later, support the removal of the Taliban and Saddam Hussein, as well as supporting the fight against religious extremism. Neocon my ass. Hitchens is the intellectual the west needs, not the one it deserves.
The essays themselves are for the most part classic Hitchens. The weakest section was the "Love," section, which is less due to any lack of skill on Hitchens part, and more due to the fact that it gets pretty boring to listen to someone rave about that which he loves (unless you happen to love the same things). Not that I dislike Graham Greene or Marcel Proust, I'm just not quite as ardent an admire as he is. Hitchens is at his best when he's a cultural and political commentator - see his polemics against the great religious figures or his writing on the Post-9/11 world - and is impossible not to enjoy reading.
If only I were more literary, then I could've given this five stars. Rock on, Hitch.
In the essays in this book, you can see what drives the man, what makes him who he is, and why he is such a massive intellectual force. Neocon is a massive misnomer for a man who is fairly radical in his humanism and anti-theism. At his core, Hitchens proves himself to be a product of his generation, the English generation born just after the end of WWII. At his core, Hitchens is simply an anti-fascist. This anti-fascism made him a figurehead of the left in his earlier years, and this same impulse made him defend Salman Rushdie and his ilk (Theo van Gogh, Ayaan Hirsi Ali), and, later, support the removal of the Taliban and Saddam Hussein, as well as supporting the fight against religious extremism. Neocon my ass. Hitchens is the intellectual the west needs, not the one it deserves.
The essays themselves are for the most part classic Hitchens. The weakest section was the "Love," section, which is less due to any lack of skill on Hitchens part, and more due to the fact that it gets pretty boring to listen to someone rave about that which he loves (unless you happen to love the same things). Not that I dislike Graham Greene or Marcel Proust, I'm just not quite as ardent an admire as he is. Hitchens is at his best when he's a cultural and political commentator - see his polemics against the great religious figures or his writing on the Post-9/11 world - and is impossible not to enjoy reading.
If only I were more literary, then I could've given this five stars. Rock on, Hitch.
limeywesty's review against another edition
4.0
When you come across a book of journals, chances are you won't read all of them, just the ones that interest you. If you do happen to pick this journal up with the intention of doing as such, make sure you read the North Korean story in "War" closer to the end.
It was fantastic. Everything Hitchens said felt like it had dual meaning. On the surface, completely cordial. But from a sceptical Western perspective, every second sentence cut like a knife against Pyong Yang.
Congrats Chris. If this is a collection of your finest work, you've done well with your career.
It was fantastic. Everything Hitchens said felt like it had dual meaning. On the surface, completely cordial. But from a sceptical Western perspective, every second sentence cut like a knife against Pyong Yang.
Congrats Chris. If this is a collection of your finest work, you've done well with your career.
squirrelfish's review against another edition
4.0
One essay in - I was bored. But then the last few pages of the essay I couldn't stop reading. I was reading as I walked, I was unable to put it down to cross the street... and in the ending few paragrpahs he said
"We seem to have a need, as a species, for something noble and lofty. The task of criticism could be defined as the civilizing of the need -- the appreciation of true decency and heroism as against coercive race legends and blood myths. The application of this winnowing and discriminating process..." should be used on current politics, and American politics, and could be beneficial in so many more cults than Churchills'.
Fininshed it, Some good articles, a couple off-the-wall articles, overall I liked the ones describing other places the best. The book/movie/people criticism was a little less engaging and felt less true.
"We seem to have a need, as a species, for something noble and lofty. The task of criticism could be defined as the civilizing of the need -- the appreciation of true decency and heroism as against coercive race legends and blood myths. The application of this winnowing and discriminating process..." should be used on current politics, and American politics, and could be beneficial in so many more cults than Churchills'.
Fininshed it, Some good articles, a couple off-the-wall articles, overall I liked the ones describing other places the best. The book/movie/people criticism was a little less engaging and felt less true.
adamcarrington's review against another edition
5.0
Breathtaking collection of political journalism, social commentary, and literary criticism from the very best. No superlatives strong enough. Peerless subject knowledge and merciless conviction of argument. I'm familiar with Hitchens' books, but it's another thing entirely to read his 9 to 5 journalistic work. I'm more informed for having done so.
aswartz555's review against another edition
4.0
Hitch's writing is purely outstanding. You don't even need to appreciate his politics to recognize the craft of his language. However, besides his artful writing, his essays are poignant, concise, and veracious. His reflections on traveling the American Midwest are nothing short of pure Americana (in which the section is aptly named) and well worth the purchase of the book in itself. His knack for literary criticism in the first section is prevalent and enjoyable. In the post-9/11 part of the "War" section, he manages to created a well reasoned and logical case for American intervention in Iraq. His position on the Iraq War was (and still is, even posthumously) highly controversial and largely caused his late split with the political Left (though he is still clearly a socialist, his views are now less coherently placed in the political canon). Though I may disagree with his final conclusions on the war in principle, he is nonetheless brilliant.
His essay on capital punishment is haunting; it will leave you shaking. This book is a must read.
His essay on capital punishment is haunting; it will leave you shaking. This book is a must read.
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