One of the titans of 20th Century literature has died, aged 89.

Reading The Gulag Archipelago, which I picked up for 50 cents at the local library in my home town, was really the first time I started to grasp the full enormity of the horror of the Soviet Union. While Solzhenitysn in his later years transformed himself into something resembling a hardcore Russian nationalist with a nasty religious bent, most people, myself included, will remember him as a brave dissident and a writer who helped inoculate many of us against collectivist thinking.

[EDIT 08/04]

Some thoughtful comments from Ilya Somin.

Plus, BBC’s “Life in Pictures“.

And more from Hitchens.

The USA Today Coaches top 25 poll debuted today with the University of Georgia taking the number one spot. Oregon placed 20th on the pre-season poll.

The poll, used as one of the factors to determine who plays in the BCS championship game, rounds out its top five USC, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Florida.

The only other Pac-10 team to crack the top 25 is Arizona State at number 16.