Huge...Precise and sensitive, sensible in sorting through some tricky issues and - not least - quite beautifully written

Exhaustive and eloquent

A masterly biography, both broad and deep

One of the finest music biographies of our age

Whether taken on its own or with the first volume, this is a magnificent work of biography... A stunning achievement

Walsh's scrupulousness (also evident in this volume's predecessor) in contextualising and considering quotes, hearsays and other evidence reveals a more complete, complex picture... But what emerges most powerfully is a penetrating vision of a creative mind, of how it made its decisions and adopted its stances, of how, often, it didn't quite understand itself

Walsh's eloquence, clarity and grasp of the composer's cultural milieu mean that this book is always gripping

Funny, perceptive, thought-provoking. Armitage has a poet's eye for the poignant detail and the bigger theme

Evocative and engaging