Three cheers! He was one of a kind ;3

I like that he believed in making the world a better place to live in rather than doing good deeds to get into some magical sugarcandy mountain when he died. The world needs more Hitchenseses...es.

He will be missed. <3

To The Hitch. Cheers.

Here's to you, here's to me, may we never disagree, and if we do, to hell with you and here's to me.
<3

Thank you for introducing him to me... He's a very intelligent man. Sad to see a great mind go D: i now have to read his book.

"God is Not Great" is the only one I've read, sadly. It was REALLY eye-opening for me, though. I had had a lot of narrow views even in my atheism until that point, and it's always good to read authors on all sides of a debate -- from those who agree and disagree to those who are gentle or terribly aggressive in how they relay their talking points.

His others have been sitting on my shelf waiting to be read, but I think I subconsciously (or not-so-subconsciously) was holding on to them for when he passed away. It's pretty definitive of his other work and his voice in general, though I'd argue it's more palatable in its serious tone. It's straight forward, but more objective than one might expect. I'd read Sam Harris' "Letter to a Christian Nation" previously, and that one actually seemed (in recollection) to be more of a wall-punching editorial style than Hitchens', so I was surprised -- I'd always heard what a militant, unapologetic asshole he was. The book didn't give me that impression, and was a pleasant surprise for me.

I'll have to head to the library or make a purchase it seems then. I like to understand all sides of the story before making my own decisions on things, but from the various youtube speeches i've heard from him he seems not only rational but highly intelligent, and for that alone he's gained my respect. He doesn't come off as arrogant or rude to me, just brutally honest while maintaining the passion for his topics- which since i consider myself for the most part to be similar in dealing with issues i can appreciate that.

I'll definately be looking into his books. I've been reading a lot of Friedrich Nietzsche's works of late, surprisingly i find him quite interesting too - i've been doing a lot of "serious" reading as of late to help me figure out why everything is the way it is. Anyway i'm kind of getting off topic here - but i will definately have to read some of hitch's work. He does seem wise in a lot of ways.

Hitch was definitely a character in the arena of religious and existential debate -- he had kind of developed this archetype of the unapologetic, whiskey-swilling, swearing, devil-may-care atheist; he never really seemed to get heated and furious, which only got people's goats all the more, I think, you know? An absolute MUST WATCH is the Intelligence Squared debate, "Is the Catholic Church a Force For Good?" in which he sat on the "against" side of the debate with Stephen Fry. If you want a good introduction to him (and to Mr. Fry, as well, who is quite famous by now not only for being a wonderful actor and writer, but a great foil to the Hitchens type -- soft spoken, yet just as unapologetic in his views), take a little bit and sit down and watch it. I honestly feel for the African priest who seems totally out of his element in this debate, to be honest; you can tell he is a very good man, but he was utterly unprepared for the intellectual thrashing he was going to get here (and I don't really think it was fair for the "for" side to have him going up against the likes of Fry and Hitchens -- I'm sure I'm not the only atheist who cringed while watching it).

I've rambled on and on, but trust me, I think you'll enjoy it. This playlist starts at the first video and then the next 4 parts follow it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmFY.....er&list=UL

I just got a chance to watch all of that and wow i must agree with you that the poor priest dude was totally out of his element and totally got "hitchslapped" lol... Man hitch was such an intelligent person, i love his debates because he can totally place down a good point without sounding like he doesn't care about the other point of view. he's objective and honest yet firm about his stance and viewpoint... definately awesome.

Thank you for sharing dudette. I loved the vids.

Also on Stephen Fry, shame that man is gay, he's an amazing speaker, and highly intelligent as well - his speeches were the best and totally floored me. :D

oh, i've had a useless crush on that man for years and years! D: and yes. he is one of the most well-spoken and articulate people i've ever seen and going up against him in a debate takes massive guts, arrogance, or both. X3

For a girl, against most guys i have some MASSIVE OVARIES. but i wouldn't dare going against him in a debate. i'd lose several times over.