An artful portrait of a complex, formative figure in American history and his turbulent era, from a New York Times –bestselling author."A balanced, readable portrait. A refreshing perspective." — New York Times Book ReviewIn this unique biography of Thomas Jefferson, leading journalist and social critic Christopher Hitchens offers a startlingly new and provocative interpr...

This second volume of Christopher Isherwood's remarkable diaries opens on his fifty-sixth birthday, as the fifties give way to the decade of social and sexual revolution. Isherwood takes the reader from the bohemian sunshine of Southern California to a London finally swinging free of post-war gloom, to the racy cosmopolitanism of New York and to the raw Australian outback. He charts his ongoing quest for spiritual certainty under the guidance of his Hindu guru, and he reveals in reckless d...

The Parthenon Marbles (formerly known as the Elgin Marbles), designed and executed by Pheidias to adorn the Parthenon, are perhaps the greatest of all classical sculptures. In 1801, Lord Elgin, then ambassador to the Turkish government, had chunks of the frieze sawn off and shipped to England, where they were subsequently seized by Parliament and sold to the British Museum to help pay off his debts.This scandal, exacerbated by the inept handling of the sculptures by their self-appo...

This selection of interviews showcases the remarkable career of one of this generation’s greatest and most divisive thinkers—featuring a foreword by Stephen Fry.“ . . . pulls together some of Hitchens’s greatest dialogues, each sparkling with intelligence and wit.” —New York Times Book ReviewIf someone says I’m doing this out of faith, I say, Why don’t you do it out of conviction?One of his generation’s greatest pu...

Whether you're a lifelong believer, a devout atheist, or someone who remains uncertain about the role of religion in our lives, this insightful manifesto will engage you with its provocative ideas.With a close and studied reading of the major religious texts, Christopher Hitchens documents the ways in which religion is a man-made wish, a cause of dangerous sexual repression, and a distortion of our origins in the cosmos. With eloquent clarity, Hitchens frames the a...

A "brief but potent" appreciation of one of the most influential and revolutionary works of political thought "mixing biography, criticism and philosophy" ( Los Angeles Times).Christopher Hitchens, the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of God Is Not Great, has been called a Tom Paine for our times. In this addition to the Books that Changed the World Series, Hitchens vividly introduces Paine and his Declaration of the Rights of Man...

This 250th Warbler Classics anniversary edition of Common Sense includes essential and illuminating contributions by Christopher Hitchens and Robert G. Ingersoll along with a biographical timeline. First published in early 1776, Thomas Paine's Common Sense ignited the revolutionary spirit of the American colonies. Written in bold, accessible prose, it transformed abstract debate into urgent conviction, persuading those in leadership and ordinary citizens that independence...

Christopher Hitchens—political journalist, cultural critic, public intellectual and self-described contrarian—is one of the most controversial and prolific writers of his generation. His most recent book, God Is Not Great, was on the New York Times bestseller list in 2007 for months. Like his hero, George Orwell, Hitchens is a tireless opponent of all forms of cruelty, ideological dogma, religious superstition and intellectual obfuscation. Once a socialist, he now refers ...

'Why, when the subject of royalty or monarchy is mentioned, do the British bid adieu to every vestige of proportion, modesty, humour and restraint? 'This is not a call for the monarchy's abolition by fiat; illusions cannot be abolished. This is an invitation to think.In this scathing essay, Christopher Hitchens looks at the relationship of the press and the public to the royal family, unpacking the tautology and contradictory arguments that prop it up. In h...

In this outstanding collection, essayist Christopher Hitchens's works are shared–a must-have for Hitchens completists seeking a further understanding of his brilliant mind.Anthologized here for the first time, A Hitch in Time is a choice selection of Christopher Hitchens’s finest reviews, diary entries, and essays–along with a smattering of ferocious letters.A Hitch in Time is a banquet of entertaining stories ranging from his thoughts on ...

As religiously grounded moral arguments have become ever more influential factors in the national debate-particularly reinforced by recent presidential elections and the creation of the faith-based initiative office in the White House-journalists' ignorance about theological convictions has often worked to distort the public discourse on important policy issues. Pope John Paul II's pronouncements on stem-cell research, the constitutional controversies regarding faith-based initiatives, the...

A collection of incisive and outrageous interviews with the legendary journalist and author of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas .Introduction by Christopher HitchensBristling with inspired observations and wild anecdotes, this collection offers a unique insight into the voice and mind of the inimitable Hunter S. Thompson, as recorded in the pages of Playboy, The Paris Review, E...