Hitchens remembered by Amis, Rushdie, Fenton, McEwan (PART 1)

On the birthday anniversary of Christopher Hitchens, Charlie Rose collects a group of his closest friends comprising Martin Amis, Salman Rushdie, James Fenton & Ian McEwan to discuss the life and legacy of the author of Hitch 22 and God is Not Great. This is Part 1.

[@beanie928]

My oh my. The warmth, love, comfort,mercy, and compassion of "believers" is never so lacking as when they're confronted with a "non-believer". The truth is that neither of us won't know for sure where we'll end up until we do.

[@MrShempenman]

Three of the best English writers, of the 1980's and 90's, on screen here.

[@videorexify]

my 5 fave authors, i want to be their friend, too!

[@adstanra]

yes, thank you!

[@billthestinker]

nice show

[@GODTHESOOTHSAYER1]

YOU'RE Very welcome, friend!

[@HITCHBITCH22]

one of the smartest primates to ever walk and talk on planet earth.... only three horsemen left... I nominate Lauwrence Krauss to fill the shoes along side Dawkins, Harris and the great philosopher Dennett

[@zepbach1]

I was asking you to explain your previous comment.

[@musiclifelove]

James Fenton ALWAYS looks like he's sleeping, it's great. He was the same way at the Remebering Christopher event that Stephen Fry hosted.

[@vincentfromyay1]

what do you make of his comments on the american holocaust (something along the lines of how he celebrates it with 'great vim and gusto)?

[@zepbach1]

Can you rewrite that so that I can understand it?

[@MrShempenman]

I don't take any words as gospel. Coetzee still acknowledges his influences. To me he's wiser than Amis - and more, he's a better artist/writer. He's so dry he's funny. He still says Beckett is an influence, but he doesn't go on about SB in the cloying way of Amis going on about Bellow/Nab. Coetzee is now a Master. Amis is still his father's son. He has two fathers as well. KA and SB. Sounds flippant - but such is spontaneous replies on KZbin :)

[@vertugallery7099]

Amis was a pygmy. I knew him long ago and he always was a snivelling arrogant little man living in the shade of his father.

[@zepbach1]

He didn't advocate the war because of weapons of mass destruction, it was for the removal of Saddam Hussein and the emancipation of the Iraqi people.

[@MrShempenman]

yes, but he does it from a distance - or appears to - his hands stay clean. JM Coetzee once said a writer who still goes on about his influences (after a certain age) is suspect.

[@jamdodgeismyname1]

i want to be their friend

[@xander7ful]

I'm sure it wasn't difficult for Hitchens to improve his writing once he came to the States. There's so much pseudo-intellectual drivel that passes for great writing here. I'm sure he realized he was a better writer than most American writers and just needed to apply himself, which he did beautifully.

[@jamdodgeismyname1]

ouch, who got left out?

[@vincentfromyay1]

i didn't have him down as a racist. but then i did read the he said he celebrated the american holocaust with 'great vim and gusto'.

[@candydouglas5463]

youre right about all evil religions, chris, there is no heaven or hell...but there is a ressurrection, so we will see you again

[@beanie928]

Rubbish! I didn't agree with his support of this senseless war on Iraq and the non-existent WMD's,but there's no way he's smiling from a non-existent "Hell" either. He was spot on in his rebuke of religion and its practitioners. He didn't give a toss about dogma and stupid orthodoxy and the man was brave to express truth and reality so well.

[@MrShempenman]

dunno to be honest - rushdie and hitchens are more interesting then amis and i've not read fenton - none of them are great-great though - something too upper-middle class about them.

[@HITCHBITCH22]

you people have not read orwell....

[@MrShempenman]

I know what you mean - was a lazy remark from me - I've read Money and it's hilarious. But Amis tries too hard to be Bellow - (I've met Amis once btw) - He annoys me when he derides Beckett for not being comic - which is pathetic. He also called JM Coetzee 'talentless', another comment that is immature. Unlike my faves, Joyce, Celine, Pinter, - these guys don't seem to have explored the underbelly - Amis tries to write in slang, but it sounds fake to me. Whereas Cormac McCarthy . . .

[@RadioSnivins]

Henry Kissinger doesn't like this.

[@vincentfromyay1]

'black lives'?

[@popinjay3000]

does anybody herr believe he was right ti support the war in iraq and continue to support it after the evidence proved false?

[@beanie928]

Very amusing. Stay off atheist web-sites if you get upset with reality.