The British writer and firebrand
columnist Christopher
Hitchens has died at the age of 62, Vanity Fair announced on its
website. The statement says he died Thursday night at M.D.
Anderson Cancer Center in Houston of pneumonia, a complication of his
esophageal cancer.
He was a most engaged, prolific and public intellectual who wrote numerous books, was a frequent television commentator and a contributor to Vanity Fair, Slate and other publications. He became a popular author in 2007 thanks to “God Is Not Great,” a manifesto for atheists.
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“Christopher Hitchens was everything a great essayist should be: infuriating, brilliant, highly provocative and yet intensely serious,” said Britain’s Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg. “I worked as an intern for him years ago. My job was to fact check his articles. Since he had a photographic memory and an encyclopedic mind, it was the easiest job I’ve ever done.”
As news spread that the prolific and
public intellectual passed away, hundreds turned to Twitter to share their
reactions.
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