'A great adventure story, more action-packed than any Western movie... a gripping picture of an extraordinary moment in history. Brands' fascinating account of the California Gold Rush is as epic as his subject'

'At once scholarly, witty and accessible . . . it is hard to imagine a rangier or more entertaining guide to this period of American history'

Powerful, elemental... The issues Morrison explores go to the root of what humanity is. They could not be more important

Left me trembling at the sheer brilliance of its storytelling and the unassailable dignity of its purpose

So enthralling that you'll want to read it more than once

Varied and authoritative and frequently beautiful

An enduring, evocative read which carefully weaves fragmented, personal experiences into a layered, ambivalent narrative about slavery and the price of freedom

Morrison is at the very height of her powers

For all its restraint, and its sinister stealth, A Mercy is a furious novel, a volley of anger, contempt and sorrow... the rich and seemingly casual evocative accretion of background and narrative slowly tightens its grip until the reader is utterly in thrall

Emotions run deep and twisted in Morrison's fiction; and their outcome is superbly traced in this powerful, flawed and genuinely creative novel

A truly brilliant story that should be much better known

An engaging portrait of a little-known and puzzling character

The talented historian Timothy Snyder recounts an intriguing life-history against the turbulent backdrop of east-central Europe in the first half of the 20th century

Timothy Snyder is not only one of the leading authorities on Central European history writing today, he is also an elegant stylist, with a talent for storytelling - a wonderful combination

It reads like Sovietology rendered by John le Carré

The book is well written with flashes of mordant humour and sufficient records of personal foibles and institutional stupidity to keep the reader going through some dreadful moments of human history