Christopher Hitchens was a British-American author, journalist and critic known for his incisive commentary on religion, politics and culture. Hitchens has written 18 books on subjects ranging from faith and literature to world politics.
Born in Portsmouth, Hitchens attended Balliol College, Oxford, where he graduated in the early 1970s with a degree in philosophy, politics and economics.
After completing his education, Hitchens began his journalistic career in the UK, writing for the New Statesman and covering conflicts in Northern Ireland, Libya and Iraq. His work often reflected his left-wing views, and he was initially involved with various socialist organisations, including the Trotskyist International Socialists. By the early 1980s, Hitchens had moved to the United States, where he wrote for The Nation and later Vanity Fair.
Throughout his career, Hitchens was known for his evolving political views. Originally a critic of American foreign policy, he became a vocal supporter of US intervention in Iraq and Afghanistan after the events of 11 September 2001.
Despite these shifts, Hitchens maintained his commitment to secularism, freedom of expression and criticism of religious institutions. He became widely known as one of the 'four horsemen' of the new atheism, alongside Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris and Daniel Dennett.
Hitchens' notable books include God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything (2007), a scathing critique of organised religion that became a bestseller and positioned him as a leading figure in the atheist movement.
In The Trial of Henry Kissinger (2001), Hitchens argued that the former US Secretary of State should be tried for war crimes. Another influential work, Letters to a Young Contrarian (2001), offered guidance on the virtues of scepticism and free thought, drawing on his own experience.
Christopher Hitchens continued to write and speak out on controversial issues until he was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer in 2010. Despite his illness, he remained active in public discourse, writing essays and participating in debates. Hitchens died on 15 December 2011 at the age of 62.
