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Jan 29, 2011jalyth rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
I've never heard of Chris Hedges before. I don't know who he is, or what his qualifications are. He speaks about how we are hurting the planet, as a species, environmentally. I agree with that. Then he somehow blames it on Christopher Hitchens. That's where the disconnect comes in. I think he could have a very interesting book discussing whether or not humanity as a whole is progressing morally (he thinks no). I think he could have a very interesting book critiquing much of what Hitchens has said, especially about Iraq. This book is some strange combination of the two. He keeps talking about the "new atheists", which amounts as far as I can tell, to 4 people. Maybe they don't speak for all atheists? He seems to understand the difference between liberation theology and fundamentalist Christian beliefs such as a 6000-year-old earth. Because I've heard of the atheists he condemns in this book, and not Hedges himself, I couldn't help but think that he is name-dropping. As if he wouldn't have been able to sell the book without reference to famous people. I could have really been into what he was saying; I think I agree with every political viewpoint he mentioned. I even think Hitchens is kind of a jerk and don't listen blindly to anything he says. However, this book didn't work for me. It felt vitriolic and polemical.