> Gee, can I borrow your notes for the final exam? I must have missed the
> class where Prof. Hitchens raised "complex ideas in a broadly accessible
> way." Last time I looked Hitchens was 100% a rabble-rouser with a head
> entirely devoid of deep thought.
I've never been a big fan of Hitchens, but he has written a few pieces over the years that I thought were wonderful. One in particular that comes to mind is his essay about Israel Shahak, based on a series of interviews with him. I thought he did a great job of discussing ideas that are not very typical, to say the least, for political discussion in the U.S. It was in Grand Street sometime in the 80s, I think, and then reprinted in one of his books - For the Sake of Argument, if I remember right.