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Missionary Position Paperback – April 10, 2012

4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 2,786 ratings

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"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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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Hilariously mean."―John Waters

"Convincing . . . Hitchens argues his case with consummate style."―
New York Times Book Review

"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."―
San Francisco Bay Guardian

"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."―
Sunday Times (London)

"If there is a hell, Hitchens is going there for this book."―
New York Press

About the Author

Christopher Hitchens was a contributing editor to Vanity Fair,Slate, and the Atlantic, and the author of numerous books, including works on Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, and George Orwell. He also wrote the international bestsellers god Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, Hitch-22: A Memoir, and Arguably. He died in December 2011.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Twelve; New edition (April 10, 2012)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 128 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1455523003
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1455523009
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.25 x 0.32 x 8 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 2,786 ratings

About the author

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Christopher Hitchens
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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, The Atlantic Monthly and Slate, Hitchens also wrote for The Weekly Standard, The National Review, and The 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.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
2,786 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book insightful and informative. They describe it as a quick, easy read with clear writing style. Readers appreciate the author's wit and irreverence. They find the character development interesting and honest. The exposition is described as great and eye-opening. However, opinions differ on the length - some find it too short while others say it's not too long.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

66 customers mention "Insight"66 positive0 negative

Customers find the book insightful, informative, and well-researched. They appreciate the author's critical eye and writing style. The book provides an interesting perspective on Mother Theresa's work and opens their minds to new ideas.

"...superlative contrarian, Christopher Hitchens delivers a well-researched and well-written diatribe against one of the more sacred characters who,..." Read more

"...It is narrow in scope, yet devastatingly effective, for it strikes right to the heart of the matter...." Read more

"...the English language around himself like a blanket, and his wit, intellect and ability to skewer an idea-good or bad-are among the best ever...." Read more

"...essayist, and journalist Christopher Hitchens, exposes the truth with investigative journalism..." Read more

60 customers mention "Readability"54 positive6 negative

Customers find the book easy to read and insightful. They describe it as a clever, funny, and brilliant work from Christopher Hitchens. The writing style is clear and concise, making it an enjoyable quick read.

"Really informative and even enjoyable read...." Read more

"This book was fascinating. It started with the slight laugh I got from the title, but then got more serious as I got further into the book...." Read more

"...but the information, quotations, official letters included made it worth my while. And at 98 pages, it is not too long a while." Read more

"...Hitchens writes a great book, to the point and pertinent, in this era of instant fame and apparent almost instant sainthood...." Read more

42 customers mention "Writing style"38 positive4 negative

Customers appreciate the book's writing style. They find it clear, concise, and easy to read. Readers praise the author's command of the English language and find the book a work of literary genius.

"...Christopher Hitchens delivers a well-researched and well-written diatribe against one of the more sacred characters who, indeed, was not all that..." Read more

"...might be one of his minor works, but it is nevertheless a work of literary genius." Read more

"...This book, written by the brilliant British-American author, essayist, and journalist Christopher Hitchens, exposes the truth with investigative..." Read more

"...Hitchens had a distinctly acerbic style of writing, ensuring that he never minced his words...." Read more

19 customers mention "Wit"18 positive1 negative

Customers enjoy the book's wit and intellect. They find it irreverent, scathing, and funny. The book is described as factual and worth reading as a warning for the future.

"...human as a work-- and benefits to no small end to the wit and concise invective that The Hitch was known best for." Read more

"...he wrapped the English language around himself like a blanket, and his wit, intellect and ability to skewer an idea-good or bad-are among the best..." Read more

"...Its a very factual book that talks about the truth...." Read more

"...But in my opinion, this book is well written, terse and funny...." Read more

15 customers mention "Character development"15 positive0 negative

Customers find the book's character development interesting and honest. They appreciate the author's portrayal of Mother Teresa's actions as human and courageous.

"...It is, at its core, resoundingly human as a work-- and benefits to no small end to the wit and concise invective that The Hitch was known best for." Read more

"...She was a friend of poverty, not the poor. *She was well-connected to worldly leaders to further her ideological ends, despite her claims to be..." Read more

"...Firstly, I find Hitchens an interesting character who often provides sometimes very interesting insights - whether I agree with them or not - into..." Read more

"...those criticisms, I still feel that she was extremely dedicated to the poorest of the poor, giving her almost entire life to their service...." Read more

5 customers mention "Exposition"5 positive0 negative

Customers find the book's exposition insightful. They say it exposes Roman Catholic self-promotion and is an eye-opener.

"excellent exposé..." Read more

"Eye Opener!..." Read more

"Great title to a great expose of Roman Catholic self promotion..." Read more

"Expose of the "great and the good"..." Read more

12 customers mention "Shortness"6 positive6 negative

Customers have different views on the book's length. Some find it informative and concise, while others feel it's too short or lacking in length.

"...And at 98 pages, it is not too long a while." Read more

"...The only complaint I have about this book is that its to short. Its a very factual book that talks about the truth...." Read more

"...the content but this book is well-written, a quick read because it's short, and very informative...." Read more

"...I should drop a start though, because it was too short." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on November 21, 2024
    The irreverent stylings of one of the more journalistically superlative contrarian, Christopher Hitchens delivers a well-researched and well-written diatribe against one of the more sacred characters who, indeed, was not all that she was propped up to be. It is, at its core, resoundingly human as a work-- and benefits to no small end to the wit and concise invective that The Hitch was known best for.
  • Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2005
    "If there is a hell, Hitchens is going there for this book." So said the New York Press in respose to The Missionary Position, subtitled Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice. Written in 1995, during the height of Mother Teresa's popularity, this book was Hitchens' attempt to debunk the myth that was, and remains, Mother Teresa.

    Written from the perspective of one who clearly is not a Christian, this book has been likened to a cruise missle. It is narrow in scope, yet devastatingly effective, for it strikes right to the heart of the matter. How are we to reconcile Mother Teresa, who cares for the sick and destitute, and Mother Teresa who holds hands and laughs with the wife of a brutal and notorious dictator? How are we to reconcile her desire to live out Christianity when she accepts million-dollar donations from the likes of Charles Keating?

    The most significant chapter in this book is one which displays Mother Teresa's overwhelming hypocrisy. The author reproduces a letter that was sent from Mother Teresa to Judge Lance Ito, seeking clemency on his behalf. She suggests that while she knows nothing of his business dealings (in which he defrauded people of $250,000,000) what is more important is the service he has rendered to the poor. She asks that the judge to do what Jesus would do, which she evidently believes would be to let him free. Los Angeles deputy D.A., Paul Turley wrote a response to Mother Teresa, suggested that she should return the $1.25 million dollars given to her by Keating, promising he would return it to the rightful owner. He received no response.

    Many others have written about Mother Teresa and have chastised her for this type of hypocrisy. Many have validated the claims that her care for the poor was more in providing a comfortable place for people to die than in seeking to heal them. Many have shown that she hoarded tens or hundreds of millions of dollars for no apparent purpose when these funds could have gone to build the finest hospitals and orphanages in India. And many Christian writers have shown that her faith bore only a passing resemblance to Christianity. But, as far as I know, this is the most significant (and only book-length treatment) of the subject, though at a mere 98 pages it reads more like an essay than a book.

    As one who reads primarily books written by professed Christians, I was taken aback by Hitchens' prevailing attitude. "Given how much this Church allows the fanatic Mother Teresa to preach, it might be added that the call to go forth and multiply, and to take no thought for the morrow, sounds grotesque when uttered by an elderly virgin whose chief claim to reverence is that she ministers to the inevitable losers in this very lottery" (page 59). He is cynical, angry, hateful and sarcastic all at once. He despises the hypocrisy he sees in Mother Teresa and seems happy to extend his disillusionment to religion in general. He attacks not only Mother Teresa, but also Roman Catholic doctrine and practice, and even further, extends his attacks to Christianity and the Bible, especially Christian teaching on the sanctity of human life. And throughout, he uses only four footnotes, providing little evidence to support his claims. Despite all that, he argues effectively and some may even say, devastatingly.

    In some ways this subject hardly seems to matter anymore, now that Mother Teresa has long since died. Yet her legacy lives on. Mother Teresa is still lauded as a hero by Catholics, Protestants and people of every other creed. It seems amply clear to those who are willing to look that her legacy is largely ficticious.
    54 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2024
    Really informative and even enjoyable read. Hitchens was one of my favorite writers (still is) because he wrapped the English language around himself like a blanket, and his wit, intellect and ability to skewer an idea-good or bad-are among the best ever. I think Hitch was the Michelangelo of the written word. This book might be one of his minor works, but it is nevertheless a work of literary genius.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on March 3, 2024
    Mother Teresa was quite a missionary, but she was not by any means a saintly person. She would rather let people perish than use good doctors to provide real care for the "guests" of her houses of squalor. She placed a much higher priority on fighting any form of birth control than she did assuring mothers were given professional care (beyond "prayer").

    A British promoter became enamored of her story and worked hard to push her into sainthood. This book, written by the brilliant British-American author, essayist, and journalist Christopher Hitchens, exposes the truth with investigative journalism (interviews with those who worked with Mother Theresa) and first-hand experience with a key "miracle" glow that was easily explained by the groundbreaking new Kodak film used by the photographer who was with Mr. Hitchens at the time. The Catholic Church was more interested in adding a now-popular figure to their sainthood roster than it was in letting the truth be heard. (Does that sound familiar?)
    4 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Georgios Chatzigeorgiou
    5.0 out of 5 stars Spectacularly brutal
    Reviewed in France on November 8, 2024
    While the topic of the book is Mother Teresa, Hitchens delivers masterfully a more general criticism on religions. How they use their moto of love and of "helping the poorest of the poor" to support dictators and frauds and suppress peoples' demand for justice in this life. Τhe author does not shy away from expressing his opinion in a blunt way. Criticizing such a well accepted public figure as Mother Teresa is not a simple task, yet Hitchens had the courage to point out flaws in her actions and works. Highly recommended for audience who does not blindly believe in untouchable personalities.
  • Adriana
    5.0 out of 5 stars livros em inglês
    Reviewed in Brazil on March 7, 2019
    excelente livro. Nos mostra um outro lado da Madre Teresa
  • Moumita Bagchi
    5.0 out of 5 stars Must read this
    Reviewed in India on April 20, 2019
    It is good that we finally have a book which takes a long hard look at the uncritical appreciation being heaped on her. Mother Teresa is a creation of the media, perhaps to assuage some of the richer world’s guilt. Her position is no different from the missionaries who preceded or followed her, but with a more palatable package. It is we who are credulous enough to make her into something semi-divine.
  • Judy Tipple
    5.0 out of 5 stars Well researched
    Reviewed in Spain on December 7, 2018
    You just got to love Chris Hitchens, a very informative and interesting read, well written and easy to read, what a pity he is no more
  • Víctor R
    5.0 out of 5 stars Hitchens, cómo te extrañamos
    Reviewed in Mexico on November 18, 2016
    Compré este libro en cuanto me enteré que canonizarían a la señora Agnes (Madre Teresa) y lo disfruté mucho.
    Está muy bien escrito (como todo lo que escribe Hitchens) y con palabras mordaces y pedazos de historias acaba con la teatralidad y la supuesta superioridad de este personaje,
    Buen libro, por supuesto, no lo compres si crees que la Madre Teresa es una Santa y no estás dispuesto a escuchar lo contrario ni a reconsiderar tu opinión. Si no, definitivamente cómpralo, te vas a divertir mientras amplías tu conocimiento sobre Agnes.