Hitchens book a surprise hit
Wall Street Journal - June 22, 2007
Hitchens Book Debunking The Deity Is Surprise Hit By JEFFREY A. TRACHTENBERG
Summer beach-reading season is just beginning, and already several =
books have broken out from the pack, such as Walter Isaacson’s =
biography of Albert Einstein, and Conn and Hal Iggulden’s “The =
Dangerous Book for Boys.”
But the biggest surprise is a blazing attack on God and religion that =
is flying off bookshelves, even in the Bible Belt. “God is Not Great: =
How Religion Poisons Everything,” by Christopher Hitchens, wasn’t =
expected to be a blockbuster. Its publisher, Twelve, a fledgling =
imprint owned by France’s Lagard=E8re SCA, initially printed a modest =
40,000 copies. Today, seven weeks after the book went on sale, there =
are 296,000 copies in print. Demand has been so strong that =
booksellers and wholesalers were unable to get copies a short time =
after it hit stores, creating what the publishing industry calls a =
“dark week.” One experienced publishing veteran suggests that Mr. =
Hitchens will likely earn more than $1 million on this book.
A spin-off is already in the works. Rival publisher Da Capo Press, =
which is owned by Perseus Books LLC, got in touch with Mr. Hitchens =
and signed him up to edit, “The Portable Atheist,” a compilation of =
essays by such writers as Mark Twain and Charles Darwin that will be =
published in the fall.
“This is atheism’s moment,” says David Steinberger, Perseus’s CEO. =
“Mr. Hitchens has written the category killer, and we’re excited =
about having the next book.”
Mr. Hitchens, 58 years old, is well-known in media and political =
circles as an erudite raconteur and essayist; his Vanity Fair columns =
and frequent TV appearances on political shows have raised his =
profile. More recently, his loud support for the Iraq war has =
infuriated many of his former compatriots. His unabashed affection =
for alcohol and tobacco has been widely chronicled — sometimes by =
himself. “I smoke, sure, and I can take a drink when offered,” he =
says. “It’s impolite to decline.”
Now he has turned his caustic gaze on God and organized religion. “A =
heavenly dictatorship would be like living in a celestial North =
Korea, except it would be worse because they could read your thoughts =
even when you were asleep,” said Mr. Hitchens in an interview. “At =
least when you die you get out of North Korea, which is the most =
religious state I’ve ever seen.”
Born in Portsmouth, England, Mr. Hitchens now lives in Washington =
D.C. and in April, became U.S. citizen. His publisher describes his =
politics as eclectic. He has written 10 books ranging from “Why =
Orwell Matters” to “Thomas Jefferson: Author of America.” He has also =
written four collections of essays; four short books, including “The =
Monarchy: A Critique of Britain’s Favorite Fetish” and “The =
Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice,” and =
collaborated on four additional titles. He expounds at great length =
about Cypriot politics and Marxism and English literature and world =
history. Still, his writings are often meandering and complex, full =
of British indirectness.
Part of what is driving the sales of “God is Not Great” falls under =
the concept of know thine enemy. Conservative-minded customers have =
been snapping up the book because they want to be familiar with its =
message, says Vivien Jennings, owner of Rainy Day Books in Fairway, =
Kan. “There is a very strong presence of the religious right, and =
they want to know what’s being said and figure out how to move =
against it.”
Some of the same forces were at work last fall when Bertelsmann AG’s =
Alfred Knopf had a surprise hit with Sam Harris’s “Letter to a =
Christian Nation,” which questioned whether the Bible is the work of =
God, and Houghton Mifflin Co., a unit of Houghton Mifflin Riverdeep =
Group PLC, successfully published “The God Delusion” by Richard =
Dawkins. Today there are 500,000 hardcover copies of Mr. Dawkins’s =
book in print, and 185,000 hardcover copies of Mr. Harris’s book in =
print.
Mr. Hitchens makes a passionate case against organized religion as =
well as theocratic, fundamentalist states. He writes that “religion =
is not unlike racism.” “Literature is a better source of ethics and a =
better source of reflection than our holy texts,” he says. “People =
should read George Eliot, Dostoyevsky and Proust for moral leadership.”
“I’m weary of people cramming religion at me,” agrees Duane Kelly, a =
self-described liberal and retired teacher who lives in Independence, =
Mo. He says he is reading the book and finds it interesting. “Maybe =
others feel the same way, and the success of this book is a =
backlash,” he says.
Booksellers say Mr. Hitchens has helped his own cause by staging =
colorful confrontations with religious figures and by making =
incendiary statements about the late Jerry Falwell. On “Anderson =
Cooper 360,” Mr. Hitchens was asked if he thought Mr. Falwell would =
go to heaven. His response: “No. And I think it’s a pity there isn’t =
a hell for him to go to.”
Says Barbara Meade, a co-owner of the Politics & Prose bookstore in =
Washington, D.C.: “Part of the appeal is that he’s a personality; we =
sold 106 books when he visited our store.”
When Mr. Hitchens debated Al Sharpton at the New York Public Library =
recently, the event made national news after the Rev. Sharpton =
attacked Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s Mormon =
faith. An estimated 1,000 turned out in Miami to listen to Mr. =
Hitchens challenge a panel that included an Orthodox Jew and a =
Buddhist nun. “I now wish I hadn’t participated,” says Nathan Katz, a =
professor of religious studies at Florida International University. =
“He was utterly abusive. It had the intellectual level of the Jerry =
Springer Show.”
Mr. Hitchens says he purposely focused his tour on what he describes =
as “the states of the Old Confederacy,” in part because he says that =
people in the South are more generous-spirited and less religious =
than generally thought. He also knew that religion was of particular =
interest. “Everywhere we had to turn hundreds away,” he says. “I =
wouldn’t say that I won or lost those the debates, but the audience =
was much more on my side than people predicted.” Some of those who =
disagree with Mr. Hitchens say it’s important to refute him publicly. =
“We don’t accept his arguments. To say religion poisons everything is =
Christopher at his hyperbolic best,” says Michael Cromartie, vice =
president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, a Washington think =
tank. Mr. Cromartie, who calls Mr. Hitchens “a friend,” will moderate =
a debate at Georgetown University in October between him and Alister =
McGrath, a professor of historical theology.
Mr. Hitchens says he has received surprisingly little hate mail since =
his book was published. What does he think readers have learned from =
“God is Not Great?” “That your life is probably better led after =
you’ve outgrown the idea that the universe has a plan for you,” he =
says. “The cosmos isn’t designed with you in mind. You might as well =
just consult an astrological chart.”