Includes bibliographical references and index.

Che Guevara : goodbye to all that -- Orwell's list -- Orhan Pamuk : mind the gap -- Bring on the mud -- Ohio's odd numbers -- On becoming American -- Mikhail Lermontov : a doomed young man -- Salman Rushdie : Hobbes in the Himalayas -- My Red-state odyssey -- The turkey has landed -- Bah, humbug -- A.N. Wilson : downhill all the way -- Ian Fleming : bottoms up -- Power suits -- Blood for no oil? -- How uninviting -- Look who's cutting and running now -- Oriana Fallaci and the art of the interview -- Imperial follies -- Clive James : the omnivore -- Gertrude Bell : the woman who made Iraq -- Physician, heal thyself -- Edmund Wilson : literary companion -- On the limits of self-improvement, part I : of vice and men -- On the limits of self-improvement, part II : vice and versa -- On the limits of self-improvement, part III : mission accomplished -- Ayaan Hirsi Ali : the price of freedom -- Arthur Schlesinger : the courtier -- Paul Scott : Victoria's secret -- The case against Hillary Clinton -- The tall tale of Tuzla -- V.S. Naipaul : cruel and unusual -- No regrets -- Barack Obama : cool cat -- The lovely stones -- Edward M. Kennedy : redemption song -- Engaging with Iran is like having sex with someone who hates you -- Colin Powell : Powell valediction -- Shut up about Armenians or we'll hurt them again -- Hezbollah's progress -- The politicians we deserve -- Rosa Luxemburg : Red Rosa -- Joan Didion : "Blue nights" -- The true spirit of Christmas -- Charles dickens's inner child -- G.K. Chesterton : the reactionary -- The importance of being Orwell -- What is patriotism?

"This collection of essays brings together some of the finest pieces Hitchens published over the last two decades for the first time in one book, addressing with characteristic wit and erudition the subjects he is best known for, including: the case against God, faith and religious observance; the case for intervention in Iraq; indictments of towering political figures like Bill and Hillary Clinton, Tony Blair, and Henry Kissinger; and celebrations of the writers and thinkers whose work meant most to him" -- provided by publisher.