Letters to a Young Contrarian - (Art of Mentoring (Paperback)) by Christopher Hitchens (Paperback)

About the Book

Inspiring a future generation of radicals, gadflies, mavericks, and dissidents, Hitchens presents a completely individual meditation on what it means to think, live, and be to the contrary.

Book Synopsis

Art of Mentoring seriesIn the book that he was born to write, provocateur and best-selling author Christopher Hitchens inspires future generations of radicals, gadflies, mavericks, rebels, angry young (wo)men, and dissidents. Who better to speak to that person who finds him or herself in a contrarian position than Hitchens, who has made a career of disagreeing in profound and entertaining ways. This book explores the entire range of contrary positions-from noble dissident to gratuitous pain in the butt. In an age of overly polite debate bending over backward to reach a happy consensus within an increasingly centrist political dialogue, Hitchens pointedly pitches himself in contrast. He bemoans the loss of the skills of dialectical thinking evident in contemporary society. He understands the importance of disagreement-to personal integrity, to informed discussion, to true progress-heck, to democracy itself. Epigrammatic, spunky, witty, in your face, timeless and timely, this book is everything you would expect from a mentoring contrarian.

Review Quotes

"Letters shows Hitchens's best....[H]e makes entertaining mincemeat of self-satisfied politicians and shreds received ideas and media-spun consensus with a fearlessness that is invaluable in our mealymouthed punditocracy."--Village Voice

"[Hitchens] is, first and last, a writer, an always exciting, often exacting, furious polemicist."--Boston Globe

"Delicious....[Letters to a Young Contrarian] showcases Hitchens at his most savage and wise."--Progressive

"Hitchens exhibits precisely the combination of indignation and intellect that he recommends to others."--New York Times Book Review

"Part revolutionist, part court jester, he is possessed of a wickedly effective prose style and sense of moral purpose....True democracy would not exist without Hitchens and his ilk. May this book breed many more contrarians, young and old alike."--Timeout New York

About the Author

Christopher Hitchens (1949-2011) was a prolific author, columnist, editor, and book critic, writing on issues ranging from politics, to religion, to the nature of debate itself. He was a regular contributor to the Atlantic Monthly, Vanity Fair, Slate, Harper's, and numerous other publications, as well as the recipient of the Lannan Literary Award for Nonfiction and the National Magazine Award. Hitchen's 2007 manifesto God Is Not Great was a #1 New York Times bestseller and National Book Award nominee.