Another View of our Saint

What made the experience of listening to The Missionary Position the most enjoyable?

An excellent polemic on many levels of a woman who is to the outside world a humble savior of the poor, but in reality is a woman who shills for the Catholic prohibitions against contraception and takes millions from the worst and richest elements of society and delivers unrelenting pain in the name of Jesus Christ.

Have you listened to any of Simon Prebble’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes. Excellent.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Mother Pain.

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Christipher goes where everyone is afraid to go.

Where does The Missionary Position rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It ranks very high as I have stated in previous reviews I love anything that Christopher Hitchens writes. He is not afraid to say anything or take on any one in power.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Christopher was able to show just what went on with Mother Teresa and how she really wasn't the person that so many thought she was. I liked the story where she was asked to return the money that Charles Keating had stolen and sent to her. Just one of many stories where you had to question why she aligned herself with the people she did.

Have you listened to any of Simon Prebble’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I haven't heard him before but he did well with this book.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, as usual I found myself asking, what is he going to bring out next.

Any additional comments?

A very interesting story about how certain people can reach a level where they and their actions are never questioned. And to do so is considered to be in very poor taste. I think the reader will be shocked at the things that were never made public about Mother Teresa.

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Interesting... but obviously biased

This book has an interesting take on the life of Mother Theresa. However, it is obviously only presenting one side of the story, so if you are looking for a balanced account, you should find another source. But overall, this is a perspective that few take, and I enjoyed the book, even if it is not one that I fully endorse.

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A charlatan of the first order

The late Mr. Hitchens had Mother Teresa's number. "She wasn't a friend of the poor; she was friend of poverty." She raised tens of millions of dollars, yet neither created nor left behind anything tangible that would alleviate the suffering of the poor.

She's about to be canonized, though the "miracles" attributed to her are specious. The first is positively fraudulent, as Monica Besra's physicians and husband can attest.

Teresa of Calcutta, in life and in death, has been the cause of much suffering. That she continues to be lionized is the function of our culture's inability to reason clearly.

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Short book - He didn't like her priorities

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

A better book

Has The Missionary Position turned you off from other books in this genre?

No, only to other books by this author.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

None obvious

Any additional comments?

The author seems to have an axe to grind and his soapbox was poorly supported. His basic problem was that he didn't like the way Mother Teresa spent the money donated to her ministry. He would have done it differently.

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Hitchens at his best!

Excellent, albeit relatively brief, analysis of the phenomenon that is Mother Teresa. Glad I purchased it. My only reservation was the production quality of the narration. It sounded as though it had been recorded once, and then edits inserted that were recorded under different conditions resulting in often times jarring changes in ambiance and tone. And while Simon Prebble is a laudable narrator, I would have preferred Mr. Hitchens himself.

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Superb

Christopher Hitchens is one of the best story tellers. His books not only entertain, they teach as well.

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pias, obnoxious, and fails hitchens razor

the book I fear is like all hitchonian styles. a bull in a China shop. indescrimininatly destroying anything and everything claiming it as was trash.
strangle he fails to mention almost 50 years of her work. I am not catholic nor am defending her as much as I am offended at the way hitchens needs to spend 30 years of his life trashing 1 person. I am curious how much time he devoted to helping poor people? i wish he gave M.T 1.5 million dollars like Keaton to see what would have happened. no. he just made money of his sensationalism of trashing someone's attempt at helping others weather right or wrong. pathetic childish and offensive.
please forgive me for not puncturing spelling or applying grammar to each and everyone's approval. I am sure I offended someone with that.

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Awesome

A necessary read for any person born after 1900s! Hitchens's work is pricelss ... RIP Christopher

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mother teresa is catholic : who knew

? do tales of mother teresa's hospice work in kolkata, india intrigue you
? do you want to know the back story about her " missionaries of charity "
? do you suspect there may be " much more to her " than meets the eye

christopher hitchens turns his cynical, jaundiced eye on mother teresa
as you'd expect, he finds that she's a human being and not a perfect saint
her core beliefs are similar to other devoted catholic priests and nuns

she really hates abortion / she believes christian baptism leads to heaven
she does not interrogate dictators and donors if they offer $ and support
her hospice clinics don't provide care in line with western clinical guidelines

but to his credit, hitchens points out some surprising expenditures and rules
lots of money is spent on sanctuaries, ornaments, travel and accommodations
in the organization of the clinics, mother teresa can be quite heavy handed

? is any of this unexpected with an albanian nun serving india's most destitute
? are you surprised, if she offers some of the dying last minute conversions
? would you expect her catholic beliefs to irritate some hindus and muslims

( aroup chatterjee has written a similar but more even handed assessment )
sadly, hitchens was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in 2010 and died in 2011
it's possible that his last days were spent under the care of devoted hospice nurses

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