Letters to a Young Contrarian (Art of Mentoring)

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 160 pages
• Published by: Basic Books April 12, 2005
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0465030335
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0465030330
• Book Dimensions: 7.8 x 5 x 0.5 inches
• Weighs: 4 ounces

Product Review
"Do justice, and let the skies fall." Christopher Hitchens borrows from Roman antiquity this touchstone for a career of confrontation, argument, and troublemaking. Part of the Art of Mentoring series, Letters to a Young Contrarian is a trim volume of about two dozen letters to an imaginary student of controversy. The letters are wonderfully engaging--Hitchens is an exceptional prose stylist--and from the outset they strike a self-reflective note. What Hitchens lionizes and illuminates in this book is not any particular disagreement, but a way of being perpetually at odds with the mainstream. "Humanity is very much in debt to such people," he argues.

Hitchens's style is incendiary and sometimes flamboyant. He relishes the role of provocateur and fancies himself a gadfly to the drowsy American republic. One of his main strengths is his erudition, allowing him to range over vast landscapes of the humanities and politics in a single breath. But he is also sometimes glib and self-satisfied, and his penchant for referencing everything in sight can be distracting. Nonetheless, his arguments are forceful and morally important--and if the reader feels otherwise, there are few more fitting compliments to a professional dissident than dissent. --Eric de Place --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly
Hitchens, a columnist for the Nation and Vanity Fair, and author, most recently, of The Trial of Henry Kissinger, has made a career of disagreement and dissent, of being the thorn in search of a side. "Only an open conflict of ideas and principles can produce any clarity," he observes. Hitchens's views, also part of the Art of Mentoring series (see Dershowitz, above), unfold in the form of an ongoing correspondence with an imaginary mentee whom he advises on modes of thought, argument and self-determination, on how to "live at an angle to the safety and mediocrity of consensus." The threats to free will are many, some predictable: establishment powers, the media, religious edicts, the manipulation of language, polls, labels, people with answers. Less obvious corrosives: the Dalai Lama, harmony, the New York Times claim to publish "all the news that's fit to print" ("conceited" and "censorious"). Indeed, the supply of enemies to rail against seems endless. Over a short span, Hitchens sounds off on a variety of topics irony, radicalism, anarchy, socialism, solitude, faith and humor, to name a few propelling readers through both time and space, from the Bible to Bosnia. At times, the argumentative positions seem offered up for their own sake which the author argues is justified and may inadvertently raise the question of how far we can define ourselves by what we are not. But this mini-manifesto, despite the somewhat mountainous terrain, should provide readers interested in current events and anti-establishment philosophy with a clearer view into one of today's more restless and provocative minds. (Oct.) Forecast: Basic figures there are as many budding contrarians out there as there are budding lawyers. The house is launching the new Art of Mentoring series with a 75,000-copy first printing of both books. With good media coverage (both authors will tour), Dershowitz's name and Hitchens's prickly reputation, both books should do well.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Reader Reviews
This review is from: Letters to a Young Contrarian (Hardcover) It's easy to forget sometimes, based on the flair and panache he exudes on the television screen, just how educated Christopher Hitchens actually is. In this book, you'll be treated to a lifetime's worth of insight and scholarship as he provides the reader with some of the best citations you'll ever come across, including, "Here I stand I can do no other" by Martin Luther. Hitchens is a contrarian but these Letters will appeal to anyone as they are the celebration of the mind via reason. When he first heard "the personal is political," he knew it was poison and he rails against the emotional approach to deciding issues in these pages. I am very glad he did. I couldn't help but think what I've thought about him so many times, "This is such a brave man." Regardless of what one believes regarding his arguments and positions, the author always puts forth sound rationale for why he thinks the way he does. His critique of conformists is absolutely precious and I would be only too happy to give this book to any young person. It's an education in itself.