Love, Poverty, and War : Journeys and Essays [Paperback]

Christopher Hitchens (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1560255803 | ISBN-13: 978-1560255802 | Publication Date: November 24, 2004

"I did not, I wish to state, become a journalist because there was no other ‘profession' that would have me. I became a journalist because I did not want to rely on newspapers for information." Love, Poverty and War: Journeys and Essays showcases America's leading polemicist's rejection of consensus and cliché, whether he's reporting from abroad in Indonesia, Kurdistan, Iraq, North Korea, or Cuba, or when his pen is targeted mercilessly at the likes of William Clinton, Mother Theresa ("a fanatic, a fundamentalist and a fraud"), the Dalai Lama, Noam Chomsky, Mel Gibson and Michael Bloomberg. Hitchens began the nineties as a "darling of the left" but has become more of an "unaffiliated radical" whose targets include those on the "left," who he accuses of "fudging" the issue of military intervention in the Balkans, Afghanistan and Iraq. Yet, as Hitchens shows in his reportage, cultural and literary criticism, and opinion essays from the last decade, he has not jumped ship and joined the right but is faithful to the internationalist, contrarian and democratic ideals that have always informed his work.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Agree or disagree with polemicist Hitchens, there is no denying the clarity of his thinking, the depth of his reading, the thoroughness of his inquiries, the independence of his opinions, and the brio of his superbly fashioned prose. An expat Brit who has written for the Nation and Vanity Fair and authored a number of stinging books, Hitchens cannot abide fuzzy logic, cant, hypocrisy, or lies and has enraged the Right and the Left with his vehement criticism of religion and his thrashing of Michael Moore and Bill Clinton. Hitchens writes astutely about post-9/11 patriotism and war and about why history is no longer taught in American schools. But this daring political analyst is also passionate about literature and offers discerning interpretations of Proust, Huxley, and Bellow. And he even shares glimpses of his less toxic self, reading Kipling to Borges in Buenos Aires, and driving across southern Illinois in a red Corvette looking for sites commemorating Abraham Lincoln. Hitchens' compassion is as sure as his ire is hot, making for a bracing and provocative collection. Donna Seaman
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Review

"'Christopher Hitchens is a remarkable commentator. He jousts with fraudulence of every stripe and always wins. I regret he has only one life, one mind.' Joseph Heller; 'His allies, of whom I count myself one, rejoice in the sureness of his aim. May his targets cower.' Susan Sontag" --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 496 pages
• Publisher: Nation Books (November 24, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560255803
• ISBN-13: 978-1560255802
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #40,913 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #74 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Government     > Federal Government

More About the Author

Christopher Hitchens (1949-2011) was the author of Letters to a Young Contrarian, and the bestseller No One Left to Lie To: The Values of the Worst Family. A regular contributor to Vanity Fair, The Atlantic Monthly and Slate, Hitchens also wrote for The Weekly Standard, The National Review, and The Independent, and appeared on The Daily Show, Charlie Rose, The Chris Matthew's Show, Real Time with Bill Maher, and C-Span's Washington Journal. He was named one of the world's "Top 100 Public Intellectuals" by Foreign Policy and Britain's Prospect.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

100 of 104 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Something to bewitch, bother, and bewilder everyone, April 25, 2005

By 

Leonard Fleisig "Len" (Washington, D.C.) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Love, Poverty, and War : Journeys and Essays (Paperback)

Christopher Hitchens is one of those writers whose prodigious output of letters, essays, and commentaries on the life, the universe, and everything is so pointed and provocative that he is capable of irritating anyone, sometimes repeatedly so, familiar enough with his work to have read more than just one of his essays. This should not be construed as a negative. In fact, if one is going to fall into paroxysms of anger or annoyance when reading an essay at the very least it should be well written, intelligent, and amusing. "Love, Poverty, and War" a collection of essays written by Christopher Hitchens has all three attributes in abundance and will please anyone willing to take the risk that his/her cultural or political icons may be subject to one of Hitchens' literary assaults.

As noted, Hitchens is prolific. The essays in this anthology were originally printed in
The Atlantic, Slate, the Nation, Vanity Fair, the Weekly Standard, and the Times Literary Supplement among other publications. In addition the anthology includes prefaces that Hitchens has written for new editions of classic works of fiction such Saul Bellow's Adventures of Augie March and Aldous Huxley's Brave New World.

It is fair to say that Hitchens does not suffer fools or cultural icons gladly. In short order he takes aim at Winston Churchill, Mother Theresa, Noam Chomsky, Michael Moore, Mel Gibson, and allegedly oppressive no smoking regulations implemented by the Mayor of New York. Given the diversity of political and social views held by these subjects it is hard to accuse Hitchens of toeing a particular ideological line. One may wince, for example, when Hitchens takes on Churchill and then applaud when he eviscerates Chomsky. No matter whether one agrees with the substance of any particular essay it is hard to disagree with the intellect and writing style of the drafter. Hitchens' very success in advancing his point of view may explain the ferocity of the attacks upon him by those who have been subject to his rapier. Very few can best him intellectually (I certainly can't) or match the sheer breadth of the subjects he has no small amount of knowledge of. Of course the immediate reaction then becomes a personal attack on his motives.

I expected the book to be dominated by the political and literary commentary that marks most of his writings for the Atlantic and Salon. What both surprised and delighted me was Hitchens more apolitical essays. His journey on the tattered remains of Route 66 is a brilliant piece of writing. So to is his look at Hollywood's famous Sunset Boulevard.

I was also surprised by the depth of personal feelings and emotions that runs through many of Hitchens essays. This is no more apparent that Hitchens' post 9/11 essays. Hitchen's description of the deep-seated emotions that welled up in him after the attacks on his adopted country, particularly New York City is very moving. He spoke with a feeling for New York that only a true New Yorker can have. (Qualification for true New Yorker status is not limited to place of birth or length of residence. It is based purely on the quality of ones attachment to it.) This is Hitchens without the sarcasm and pointed wit. He speaks from the heart and it is quite moving.

All in all these essays have something to please and annoy just about everyone. Colette once said that the "writer who loses his self-doubt, who gives way as he grows old to a sudden euphoria, to prolixity, should stop writing immediately: the time has come for him to lay aside his pen." Hitchens may be prolific but he is far from prolix. I trust it will be a long time before he lays down his pen.

This book is recommended for anyone that admires good writing and who is not concerned about damaging any particular sacred cows.

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Take a journey through the exigencies of love, poverty and war with the acerbic essayist Brit native Christopher Hitchens, October 10, 2006

By 

C. M Mills "Michael Mills" (Knoxville Tennessee) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Love, Poverty, and War : Journeys and Essays (Paperback)

Honesty is still the best policy even when written by a noted journalist living in Washington DC! Hitchens is an atheist, secularist and first class detector of hypocrisy, evil and deceit! You may not always agree with this 21st inheritor of the mantle of such writers as George Orwell but he will engage your mind, soul and heart!
This collection of essays culled from Hitchens' articles in Vanity Fair,
the Nation and other prominent venues for his talents is divided into three parts:
Part One-Hitchens gives us several book reviews of biographies of some of his favorite writers from Marcel Proust, Kingsley Amis; Graham Green; Aldous Huxley: James Joyce and Graham Greene. He also takes a look at the life of the Communist Trotsky. Hitchens evidences his broad literary learning in these brainy articles.
Part Two: In this section deemed "Americana" Hitchens takes to the wide open American road. We go down Sunset Boulevard with Billy Wilder; take a trip on what was once Route 66 and look at the laws governing New York City. We also read his reviews of Bob Dylan's oeuvre; discover the pleasures of Hitchens' appreciation of Saul Bellows' classic The Adventures of Augie March and revist the land of Civil War reenactors.
His review of the Martha Stewart empire is priceless. He also writes judicious and on target attacks on the likes of Michael Moore and Mel Gibson. Several other articles on figures from Mother Theresa (highly controversial) and the Dalai Lama are worth reading even if you disagree with them.
Part Three is the most poignant of the three sections of this large book.
In it Hitchens reports on the tragedy of 9-11; takes a well informed look at the gruesome situation in the Middle East and its horrible madmen incarnated in such tyrants as Ben Laden and Saddam Hussein.

39 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book, As Ever, December 27, 2004

By 

Billy Willy "Johnny" (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Love, Poverty, and War : Journeys and Essays (Paperback)

I do love Hitchens, and I'm quite fond of his tone. I wholeheartedly recommend his work. While he's not entirely convincing on the "War" issue(I think his abstracting of a "theocratic fascist" enemy is a bit problematic), otherwise he's always tight and if nothing else, fun to read. He's a bit tedious in the last Orwell book, but his essays have no remotely blunt areas--i.e., very sharp-like, all the time.

As to the Dalai Llama issue raised at length below...let's see, "he has no right to denigrate our religion." No. No, that's objectively wrong. He has every right to denigrate your religion. Of course there's so many moral cowards running around right now, I can see why you'd think that. Nobody's ever bothered to denigrate your religion before. One would think there were a law against it, or something. Of course if you substitute the "religious" in "anti-religious bias" with "nonsense," as in "anti-nonsense bias," Hitchens' position may be more comprehensible.