He was the most influential and interesting author I have had the pleasure of reading. I find it ironic that he is my favorite author because one of the lessons I learned from his books is the importance of questioning your heroes. It would be foolish to blindly follow a crazy old man just because he said a few things you agree with. Mr. Hitchens has always survived my questions by his demand for total honesty and journalistic integrity, a demand he has rigorously applied to his writings. His infamous bestseller “God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything” had a great influence on me after I abandoned Christianity. It provided me with a perspective that was new to me at the time and served as a springboard in my ongoing analysis of religion. His autobiography vividly describes his life, from birth in post-World War II Britain to the fateful day he was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer, leading to his death in 2011. If I ever decide to write my memoirs, I will make sure to include a statement describing the influence of his writing during these seminal years