So Christopher is gone, hopefully sitting in Purgatory, trying to figure out where he went wrong.<\/p>\n
Yes, cigarettes are bad for you; dead at 62 from esophogeal cancer.<\/p>\n
I have posted about Hitchens before, since he is a clever writer and a militant atheist (but if he's so smart, why did he smoke himself to death?). He was admired by lots of people who enjoyed his sarcasm, quick wit and defense of atheism.<\/p>\n
He was a Contributing Editor for Vanity Fair (as well as writing for many other publications), and if you go to this link Christopher Hitchens Contributing Editor<\/a> you're sure to be able to find lots of stuff.<\/p>\n Joseph Taranto of the Wall Street Journal had an interesting piece on Hitchens –<\/p>\n An atheist meets his maker. No, make that his end.<\/a><\/p>\n Although we (Taranto) never became religious, by our late teens we had concluded that it was silly to be a militant atheist. Why go around proselytizing about what you don't <\/em>believe in? Many years later, in the pages of The Wall Street Journal, we debated<\/a> Christopher Hitchens<\/a>–who remained a militant atheist until his death yesterday at 62<\/a>–on the subject of the "religious right" in America. Hitchens was one of the most formidable writers we have known, so it was our good fortune that his contribution was not his finest work.<\/p>\n We'll admit to once feeling a twinge of envy for Hitchens. When we were 13 or so, we told a friend we wanted one day to write a book about why we didn't believe in God. (Yes, we were a bit of a nerd at that age.) By adulthood, the thought seemed ridiculous. But Hitchens must have made millions with his 2007 best-seller, "God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything." One could be forgiven for asking: If you're so smart, Taranto, how come you're not Hitch?<\/p>\n Here are two postings I (Tom Faranda) put up back in August, 2010 –<\/p>\n Essayist and pundit Christopher Hitchens writes about his cancer<\/a>, and quoting my own posting –<\/p>\n Hitchens<\/a> is an interesting fellow. British; he is intelligent, quick, and glib. But lacks wisdom. His political views are mixed, but the one consistency is his militant atheism. Years ago he wrote a book attacking Mother Teresa, entitled "The Missionary Position<\/a>"; his most recent screed is "God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything<\/a>".<\/p>\n And an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper –<\/p>\n More on Christopher Hitchens and his cancer; an interview with Anderson Cooper<\/a><\/p>\n