(np) Hitch-22

[Michael Bailey]

really quite enjoyable and some very good argumentation.

a) he opens with himself as a little kid on a ship at Malta
b) well, before that he talks about seeing a reference to himself as
dearly departed in print...
c) his crowd preferred sex to drugs, and he sez "I still think that
was the right choice" (or words to that effect)
d) lifelong friendship with Martin Amis
e) and some poet named James Fenton who sounds like a sterling
character worth investigating
f) apparently undergoing cancer treatments at present
g) not impressed with Hans Blix's investigative legwork; some other
Swede he thought would've done better was vetoed by Russia and France
h) witnessed first-hand what Saddam did to the Kurds and the gratitude
of the Marsh Arabs when US reflooded the area

nothing to shake my pacifism; much to bolster my respect for other
points of view
nothing to shake my religion; much to add to my regard for principled atheism

many, many references to literary works I'd like to follow up...