Letters to a Young ContrarianLetters to a Young Contrarian
1st
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Book, 2001
Current format, Book, 2001, 1st, All copies in use.Book
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In a collection of wise and witty essays and meditations, the popular columnist for Vanity Fair and The Nation shares his thoughts on the art of being contrary, celebrating the roles of radicals, mavericks, rebels, and dissidents in promoting political, social, and cultural debate. 75,000 first printing.
In the book that he quite possibly was born to write, provocateur and bestselling author Christopher Hitchens inspires future generations of radicals, gadflies, mavericks, rebels, angry young (wo)men and dissidents. Who better to speak to that person pitched at an angle of passionate disagreement against the lazy consensus than Hitchens, who has made a career of disagreeing in profound and entertaining ways?
This book explores the entire range of "contrary positions," invoking mentors such as Emile Zola, Rosa Parks and Vaclav Havel. What they have in common is a commitment to living and thinking, right now, in a society not as it is but as it might be. Hitchens bemoans the loss of the skills of dialectical thinking evident in contemporary society and the sacrifice of true irony, satire and other forms of critical style. He understands the importance of disagreement - to personal integrity, to informed discussion, to true progress - to democracy itself.
Bestselling author Christopher Hitchins inspires future generations of radicals, rebels, and angry young men and women in these essays on the importance of disagreement to personal integrity, informed discussion, and democracy itself. The work is part of a series, "The Art of Mentoring," based on Rainer Maria Rilke's Letters to a Young Poet . Hitchins is a popular columnist for Vanity Fair and The Nation . This work lacks a subject index. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
"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.
A witty, wise, biting, and completely individual meditation on what it means to think, live, and be to the contrary.
In the book that he quite possibly was born to write, provocateur and bestselling author Christopher Hitchens inspires future generations of radicals, gadflies, mavericks, rebels, angry young (wo)men and dissidents. Who better to speak to that person pitched at an angle of passionate disagreement against the lazy consensus than Hitchens, who has made a career of disagreeing in profound and entertaining ways?
This book explores the entire range of "contrary positions," invoking mentors such as Emile Zola, Rosa Parks and Vaclav Havel. What they have in common is a commitment to living and thinking, right now, in a society not as it is but as it might be. Hitchens bemoans the loss of the skills of dialectical thinking evident in contemporary society and the sacrifice of true irony, satire and other forms of critical style. He understands the importance of disagreement - to personal integrity, to informed discussion, to true progress - to democracy itself.
Bestselling author Christopher Hitchins inspires future generations of radicals, rebels, and angry young men and women in these essays on the importance of disagreement to personal integrity, informed discussion, and democracy itself. The work is part of a series, "The Art of Mentoring," based on Rainer Maria Rilke's Letters to a Young Poet . Hitchins is a popular columnist for Vanity Fair and The Nation . This work lacks a subject index. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
"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.
A witty, wise, biting, and completely individual meditation on what it means to think, live, and be to the contrary.
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