“Everybody does have a book in them, but in most cases that’s where it should stay.”

— Christopher Hitchens

For the last week, I have been walking with Christopher Hitchens.  Every morning, rain, snow or shine, I grab my iPod and head out the door for work.  The time frame between home and work is approximately 25 minutes so I have 50 minutes/day with the voice that comes through the stereo headphones.   I accomplish two important tasks: 1) Exercising the body and 2) Exercising the mind.  For over two years, I have been walking and reading.  While I physically end up at work, my travels have taken me to ancient Egypt with Zahi Hawass, pre-revolutionary France with Stacy Schiff, and Cuba with Fidel Castro.  Now, I walk with Christopher, a self-appointed contrarian who has strident opinions that challenge, amuse and provoke a great deal of thinking.   One Amazon reviewer “”Hitch 22” is a memoir, not an autobiography, by Christopher Hitchens, who seems to go out of his way to ensure that everyone in the world has at least one compelling reason to disagree with him(via Amazon.com: Hitch-22: A Memoir (9781607882329): Christopher Hitchens, Author: Books.)  So far, I have not disagreed with him.   The first part of the book is about Yvonne, his mother.  I appreciated his thoughtful approach to her death and the honest assessment of his response and remembrances.