
It seems remarkable to think that so many left wing activists defended the Soviet Union and were blind to its brutality right up until the collapse of the Berlin Wall. I remember a fellow journalist in 1989 mulling over the demise of a "fascinating experiment" in economic planning.
As a teenager I devoured everything he wrote. We studied 1984 for A Level, but it was Homage to Catalonia and his collections of articles that stirred my youthful spirit. I was always taken with his direct style and his independence of mind. I'm not sure if Hitch is a true heir to Orwell or not, I rather suspect he'd like to be, but this is a fine tribute nonetheless.
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