Unhitched
The Trial of Christopher Hitchens
Richard Seymour (Author)
A Verso book
Blistering and timely interrogation of the politics and motives of an infamous ex-leftist.
Irascible and forthright, Christopher Hitchens stood out as a man determined to do just that. In his younger years, a career-minded socialist, he emerged from the smoke of 9/11 a neoconservative “Marxist,” an advocate of America’s invasion of Iraq filled with passionate intensity. Throughout his life, he played the role of universal gadfly, whose commitment to the truth transcended the party line as well as received wisdom. But how much of this was imposture? In this highly critical study, Richard Seymour casts a cold eye over the career of the “Hitch” to uncover an intellectual trajectory determined by expediency and a fetish for power.
As an orator and writer, Hitchens offered something unique and highly marketable. But for all his professed individualism, he remains a recognizable historical type—the apostate leftist. Unhitched presents a rewarding and entertaining case study, one that is also a cautionary tale for our times.
Book Details
- Paperback
- January 2013
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ISBN 978-1-84467-990-4
- 5.2 × 7.8 in
/ 160 pages
- Territory Rights: USA and Dependencies and the Philippines.
Endorsements & Reviews
“Among those who share responsibility for the carnage and chaos in the Gulf are the useful idiots who gave the war intellectual cover and attempted to lend it a liberal imprimatur … Richard Seymour expertly traces their descent from humanitarian intervention to blatant islamophobia.” — Gary Younge, in praise of The Liberal Defence of Murder
“A great deal of damning material on the apologists of recent illegalities.” — Phillippe Sands, in praise of The Liberal Defence of Murder
“Indispensable ... Seymour brilliantly uncovers the pre-history and modern reality of the so-called pro-war Left.” — China Miéville, in praise of The Liberal Defence of Murder
Also by Richard Seymour 
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Hardcover
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Paperback