Truly sad to hear he has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. It is almost always fatal and usually in a short period of time. A miracle from god would be appreciated but unlikely to happen, I suppose.
I hope he goes out in a blaze of written glory. He is a very remarkable man.
Not to nit pick, but Hitch was actually diagnosed with esophageal cancer-- Which has a TERRIBLE prognosis. On the bright side, he seemed relatively upbeat (if a little bit exhausted) in a recent interview on the Hugh Hewitt show (it's a great interview, if you can stand digging through Hewitt's blog for it).
Hitchens' memoir is possibly the greatest autobiographical piece I've read (at times it is MAYBE outdone by Stephen Fry or Bertrand Russell, but the lasting effect of this book is much more profound than either). It's also a good book in its own right. Hitchens' style-- whereby he name drops he expects the reader to know (ie: Martin & Kingsley Amis, James Fenton, Peter Conquest, PG Wodehouse, WH Auden...) forces you to look up names, places, and great works. This book has introduced me to some of the first poetry I've ever really enjoyed (namely Auden and Fenton), as well as new political opinions which I am now persuaded by (Ibn Warraq's defense of western society and case against Islam). Anyone who reads English should read Hitch-22.
