Strange Gods and the Old Devils
They cast their literary spells over a generation, but have Martin Amis and Ian McEwan merit as moralists?
Politics, Ideas and the Arts
The Enlightenment on Horseback
Andrew Roberts’s account of the life 'Napoleon the Great' is magisterial and beautifully written
A Role Model for Boris
Vincent Azoulay's biography of Pericles is written with precision and avoids clichés
Triumph of the Will
A new work brings into striking contrast the personalities of Stalin himself and the other members of the Soviet elite in his time
Poland’s Grand Panjandrum
It is hard to engage seriously with Adam Michnik's scattered collection of essays
Russia’s not so Lovable Rogue
An account of Eduard Limonov's adventurous life, that's a bit too heavy on admiration
Quotidian but Quite Quotable
This latest volume in the superb Cambridge edition of Beckett's letters discredits the writer's diffidence
Bourgeois Baiting
Sigmar Polke's preoccupation with process meant he never captured the public's imagination
Is art therapeutic?
Alain de Botton tries to personalise the museum experience — but instead trivialises great historical ideas
Digital Civilisation?
Two summer exhibitions present differing visions of civilisation
Nadine Gordimer: ‘Comrade Madam’
A personal reminiscence of the Nobel laureate, whose anti-apartheid novels masked her own ruthless ideology
Grandmaster of the Global Chessboard
Henry Kissinger's latest book is a reminder of the timeless question of international relations