Hitch-22
Christopher Hitchens wrote Hitch-22 in his late fifties, shortly before his terminal cancer diagnosis. The book moves from his mother's secret Jewish identity and her suicide in Athens, through his Oxford years with Martin Amis and James Fenton, his Trotskyist phase, and his long career as a journalist covering Cyprus, Iraq, and the Salman Rushdie fatwa. Hitchens reflects on his shift from the international left toward support for the Iraq War, the loss of friends over that decision, and his long argument with religion. The writing is dense with literary reference and personal portraits of figures like Salman Rushdie, Edward Said, and Susan Sontag. It is one of the most discussed political memoirs of recent decades, written in his distinctive voice.
What you might want to know about Hitch-22
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
Christopher Hitchens's memoir of a life spent moving between literary London, revolutionary politics, war zones, and the dinner tables of postwar intellectual life.
Harris wrote a tribute to Hitchens at samharris.org under the title Hitch, calling Hitch-22 essential reading for understanding a friend and ally he counted among the most important writers of his generation.
No. The memoir covers the major arguments of his career, including Iraq and religion, in his own voice, so it works as an introduction as well as a companion to his essays.
Hitch-22 was written by Christopher Hitchens, published in 2010 by Twelve.
Hitch-22 is 448 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Hitch-22 takes most readers 7 to 10 hours to finish.
Hitch-22 is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.