"A religious fundamentalist, a political operative, a primitive sermonizer, and an accomplice of worldly secular powers. Her mission has always been of this kind. The irony is that she has never been able to induce anybody to believe her. It is past time that she was duly honored and taken at her word."Among his many books, perhaps none have sparked more outrage than The Missionary Position, Christopher Hitchens's meticulous study of the life and deeds of Mother Teresa. A Nobel Peace Prize recipient beatified by the Catholic Church in 2003, Mother Teresa of Calcutta was celebrated by heads of state and adored by millions for her work on behalf of the poor. In his measured critique, Hitchens asks only that Mother Teresa's reputation be judged by her actions-not the other way around.With characteristic élan and rhetorical dexterity, Hitchens eviscerates the fawning cult of Teresa, recasting the Albanian missionary as a spurious, despotic, and megalomaniacal operative of the wealthy who long opposed measures to end poverty, and fraternized, for financial gain, with tyrants and white-collar criminals throughout the world.
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"A great read, especially in light of the recent revelations regarding Mother Teresa's struggle with her faith. It certainly raises a lot of questions about the nature of faith, the complexity of the Church, and human nature in general." — Elizabeth (5 out of 5 stars)
"A great read, especially in light of the recent revelations regarding Mother Teresa's struggle with her faith. It certainly raises a lot of questions about the nature of faith, the complexity of the Church, and human nature in general."
“Hilariously mean.”
“Convincing…Hitchens argues his case with consummate style.”
“A dirty job but someone had to do it. By the end of this elegantly written, brilliantly argued piece of polemic, it is not looking good for Mother Teresa.”
“Anyone with ambivalent feelings about the influence of Catholic dogma (especially concerning sex and procreation); about the media’s manufacture of images; or about what one can, should, or shouldn’t do for someone less fortunate, should read this book.”
" i think this is a very important book. i suppose that many of my generation who just grew up with the icon of mother theresa don't stop to question her claims or usefulness. this book argues against the blind acceptance of her saintliness as hitchens himself played the devil's advocate against her beautification with the use of reason and facts. even if you don't care that the "work" she does is at heart agrandized prostelization for a corrupt church, you at least walk away with a clearer picture of what she actually does based on facts and not reputation. a quickand thoughful read. "
" Incisive, bold, hilarious, and true. No figure should be free from critical analysis and Hitchens delivers a first-class one in this book. "
" Hitch at his best, nailing the "thieving, fanatical Albanian dwarf" for the fraud she was. A quick read, but an important one. "
" I know it just seems like a book picking on a nice old lady out of spite. But if Hitchens' facts are to be believed at all, she is not a nice old lady. "
" amusing, if nothing else "
" Hitchens takes on of the mot iconoclastic figures of the Catholic Church and demonstrates clearly how anyone.. even those well intentioned become political and ideologicalpawns in a big game they are want to understand.. "
" Speechless. Should be required reading. You can also watch Hitchen's documentary on the same subject on youtube. It's called 'Hell's Angel.' "
" Brilliant, and Mother Teresa, you sure do (or did) have a lot to answer for. Also, where did all that money go? "
" Possibly lacking some of his more barbed vitriol, this is still a wonderful piece, especially in light of the near universal approbation of this woman "
" I flew through this book. It was so well written and brilliantly argued. Love Hitchens. "
" The Hitch is actually quite gentle on the fraud he proves Mothere Theresa to be. "
" Mostly anecdotal, but enlightening nonetheless. "
" Mother Teresa is so phenomenally horrible, I could not craft a more sinister villain in any story. "
" an interesting idea for a book by hitchens but he reads like a lapsed catholic who is sorting out some sort of internal conflict with the Church-- i was looking for a darkly satirical look at catholic charity unveiled but did not find it "
" A useless book. Complete falsehood! "
" Meticulously researched and objective. Everybody should read this to dispel myths of supposed holy figures. "
" Interesting read. I have great affection for Mr. Hitchens but he does have a tendency to be slightly bombastic in his use of language. I do however applaude him for shining a critical light on Mother Teresa's less than perfect missions. "
" Hitchens will be going to hell for writing this and I will be going to hell for enjoying it. Chris, I'll bring the cigars - see you there! "
" Brave and revelatory. The beatification of Mother Theresa was one of the great cons of the 20th Century. Even more important, this exposes the essential inhumanity behind all religious fundamentalism. "
Christopher Hitchens (1949–2011) was the author of Letters to a Young Contrarian and the bestseller No One Left to Lie To: The Values of the Worst Family. A regular contributor to Vanity Fair, Atlantic Monthly, and Slate, he also wrote for the Weekly Standard, National Review, and Independent and appeared on The Daily Show, Charlie Rose, The Chris Matthew’s Show, Real Time with Bill Maher, and C-SPAN’s Washington Journal. He was named one of the world’s “Top 100 Public Intellectuals” by Foreign Policy and Britain’s Prospect.
Simon Prebble, a British-born performer, is a stage and television actor and veteran narrator of some three hundred audiobooks. As one of AudioFile’s Golden Voices, he has received thirty-seven Earphones Awards and won the prestigious Audie in 2010. He lives in New York.
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