For the Sake of Argument: Essays and Minority Reports'For the sake of argument, one must never let a euphemism or a false consolation pass uncontested. The truth seldom lies, but when it does lie it lies somewhere in between.'. The global turmoil of the last few years has severely tested every analyst and commentator. Few have written with such insight as Christopher Hitchens about the large events - or with such discernment and with about the small tell-tale signs of a disordered culture. For the Sake of Argument ranges from the political squalor of Washington, as a beleaguered Bush administration seeks desperately to stave off disaster and Clinton prepares for power, to the twilight of Stalinism in Prague; from the Jewish quarter of Damascus in the aftermath of the Gulf War to the embattled barrios of Central America and the imperishable resistance of Saralevo, as a difficult peace is negotiated with ruthless foes. Hitchens' unsparing account of Western realpolitik in the end shows it to rest on delusion as well as deception. The reader will find in these pages outstanding essays on political asassination in America as well as a scathing review of the evisceration of politics by pollsters and spin-doctors. Hitchens' knowledge of the tortuous history of revolutions in the twentieth century helps him to explain both the New York intelligentsia's flirtation with Trotskyism and the frailty of Communist power structures in Eastern Europe. Hitchens' pointed reassessments of Graham Greene, P.G. Wodehouse and C.L.R. James, or his riotous celebration of drinkiny and smoking, display an engaging enthusiasm and an acerbic wit. Equally entertaining is his unsparing rogues' gallery, which gives us unforgettable portraits of the lugubrious 'Dr'Kissinger, the comprehensively reactionary 'Mother' Teresa, the preposterous Paul Johnson and the predictable P.J. O'Rourke. |
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Síða 162
There is a sea change in British politics – the sort of slow but irresistible movement which Jim Callaghan detected when the tide was flowing the other way in 1978 . Yes , I think that covers everything . First announcing , with his ...
There is a sea change in British politics – the sort of slow but irresistible movement which Jim Callaghan detected when the tide was flowing the other way in 1978 . Yes , I think that covers everything . First announcing , with his ...
Síða 163
Brown is angered by the same sort of thing , though he would be more likely to call it infrastructure . It is said that Cecil Parkinson , asked what had happened to the fabled revenues of North Sea Oil , replied with perfect insouciance ...
Brown is angered by the same sort of thing , though he would be more likely to call it infrastructure . It is said that Cecil Parkinson , asked what had happened to the fabled revenues of North Sea Oil , replied with perfect insouciance ...
Síða 313
One of the addictive ingredients of this collection – a loosely sorted box of widely spaced and various ... I leave all that sort of thing to my man Usborne , even though he overdoes the buff business and has encouraged the trying ...
One of the addictive ingredients of this collection – a loosely sorted box of widely spaced and various ... I leave all that sort of thing to my man Usborne , even though he overdoes the buff business and has encouraged the trying ...
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For the Sake of Argument: Essays and Minority Reports Christopher Hitchens Engin sýnishorn í boði - 2014 |
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