by Christopher Hitchens, Windsor Mann, Editor

Da Capo Press, $17.00, 332 pages

The inimitable Christopher Hitchens was no mealy-mouthed journalist. Brutally honest and always the provocateur, he devoted his life to speaking his mind on a vast range of topics, even when it riled his peers and foes alike. He was unafraid to hold unpopular opinions such as his long-held atheistic views and his less-than-admirable take on the much-revered Mother Theresa. Even after he was diagnosed with cancer in 2010, he continued to write about the most profound subjects of our day, including his imminent death which he recounted with unflinching candor and no trace of sentimentality until he died in December 2011.

Hitchens, who was born an Englishman but became an American citizen at the age of 58, wrote prolifically as a columnist and literary critic for The Atlantic, Vanity Fair, Slate, and The Nation and was a staple of talk shows. In a 2005 poll, he was voted the world’s fifth top public intellectual. The Quotable Hitchens: From Alcohol to Zionism, is a compendium of Hitchens’ most memorable and entertaining quotations on hundreds of topics. It is as hilarious as it is inflammatory and is a volume that will constantly remind the reader of the incredible genius that was Christopher Hitchens.

Diane Prokop