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Christopher Hitchens: Obituary First Lines

  • Christopher Hitchens has died at age 62.  The author, critic, and religious skeptic was diagnosed with esophageal cancer last year, shortly after the publication of his memoir Hitch-22. He was being treated for the cancer in Houston when he died yesterday of pneumonia.

    Here’s how Christopher Hitchens obituary writers around the globe are leading their stories:

    Vanity Fair:

    Christopher Hitchens was a wit, a charmer, and a troublemaker, and to those who knew him well, he was a gift from, dare I say it, God. 

    The Washington Post:

    Christopher Hitchens, a sharp-witted provocateur who used his formidable learning, biting wit and muscular prose style to skewer what he considered high-placed hypocrites, craven lackeys of the right and left, “Islamic fascists” and religious faith of any kind… 

    The Independent:

    Christopher Hitchens made his name by making enemies.

    The Australian:

    Christopher Hitchens, the influential author, polemicist, provocateur and committed bon vivant, has died from cancer of the oesophagus.

    The New York Times:

    Christopher Hitchens, a slashing polemicist in the tradition of Thomas Paine and George Orwell who trained his sights on targets as various as Henry Kissinger, the British monarchy and Mother Teresa, wrote a best-seller attacking religious belief, and dismayed his former comrades on the left by enthusiastically supporting the American-led war in Iraq… 

    The Associated Press:

    Cancer weakened, but did not soften Christopher Hitchens. 

    His final thoughts on his illness were published earlier this month in Vanity Fair.

    See our full biography of Christopher Hitchens »

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