Hitch-22: A Memoir by Christopher HitchensMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I had an appreciation of Hitchens for his radical atheism, wit as a pundit on cable TV shows, and sparrer with the faithful in regular debates. This autobiography opened a much more complete picture of the writer to me: Hitchens's mother's suicide, her secret Jewishness, his activities with anti-Communist socialism inspired by Leon Trotsky, typically British boys' school confrontations with homosexuality, knowing and loathing Bill Clinton, and a friendship with Martin Amis. Recommending Ami's memoir Expérience and other books like Watching the Door: Drinking Up, Getting Down, and Cheating Death in 1970s Belfast make this a real treat for avid readers as it generates a list of must reads. The Clinton thing I found interesting: Hitchens was there when Clinton didn't inhale, because he was ravenous for the brownies!
The narration by the author himself, with an added special of an interview with him at the end, makes this a special audiobook package. Unfortunately, his trademark low-pitch, understated delivery is easily overwhelmed by background sounds in this production. Personally, I don't blame the narrator, I blame the audio engineer.
There are some very moving chapters here, like why he became an American citizen, and on helping a family deal with the grief of their son killed in Iraq where he went inspired by Hitchens writings.
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