As near-definitive as we are likely to get. Detailed, shocking and scrupulously researched, it is an addictive and often harrowing read

'Every generation believes that language is in decline, but Doing Our Own Thing argues that this time the concern is real... John McWhorter's...analysis is insightful, richly documented, and yes, eloquently written.'

A propulsive read

Chatty, funny, hugely engaging ... an endearingly honest account of his life so far...

Witty with bursts of Smithy-style sincerity - it is distinctively Corden.

It'll make you lol but is also full of poignancy in classic Smithy Style

Strong accounts of his highs and lows... [the book] lays bare the distorting lens of modern celebrity.

A vivid, sympathetic account... provides a definitive explanation of Welles's ultimate, lingering downfall

I am already looking forward to [the third volume] such is Callow's sympathetic absorption in the mass of material, which he handles with a light and ironic touch, that I found myself utterly hooked... As an actor himself Callow writes illuminatingly about Welles's performances

Callow's enterprise is one of the rarest in publishing. It leaves the reader dry-mouthed with anticipation for his final, third volume

The only biog really worth it's salt this year...reliably entertaining, wise and sane

Welles’s packed schedule is rifled through with chatty elegance