Hitchens during his cancer treatment in 2010. (Andrew Rusk, Creative Commons)

The provocative but beloved author passed away at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, according to a statement from Conde Nast, publisher of Vanity Fair magazine.

In June 2010 Hitchens cancelled a tour for his memoir “Hitch-22,” announcing that he was undergoing treatment for cancer of the esophagus.

Here’s more from the Associated Press:

"Hitchens, a frequent television commentator and a contributor to Vanity Fair, Slate and other publications, had become a popular author in 2007 thanks to "God is Not Great," a manifesto for atheists that defied a recent trend of religious works. Cancer humbled, but did not mellow him. Even after his diagnosis, his columns appeared weekly, savaging the royal family or reveling in the death of Osama bin Laden."

Hitchens, a militant humanist, was well-known for his consistent, equal opportunity attacks of causes on both the political left and right. The Al Qaeda attacks on Sept. 11 caused Hitchens to veer away from the political left and criticize what he called "fascism with an Islamic face."

Hitchens became a media fellow at the Hoover Institution in September 2008. He is considered to be one of the world's most influential thinkers.

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