... this book has become a must-read for modern military strategists (even though Sun Tzu wrote about chariots rather than drones), the KGB and also for business thinkers who have applied his martial philosophy to the war that is modern capitalism.

..this book is a guide to winning wars, avidly studied by America's armed forces as it was by Mao. . ..American strategists often read the “Art of War” to understand China not as an alluring and persuasive wielder of soft power, but as a potential enemy.

A most beautiful book . . . full of information. I'd like to travel to every one of the stations. Simon Jenkins is a blessing to the nation, keeping an eye on our buildings and making sure they are not forgotten or neglected.

Jenkins has unearthed a lot of gems. The photography is stunning

This is a cracker . . . a beautiful book

Simon Jenkins extols the virtues of 100 of them, as well as offering a brief history of the rise, fall and rise again of Britain's railways. And he is the perfect person to do so. Excellent, enticing.

This glorious and utterly essential guide to Britain's best railway stations is also a history of some of the remarkable - but often undersung - landmarks to our social history

Masterly, perhaps a masterpiece

Every house in England should have a copy of this book

Jenkins is, like all good guides, more than simply informative: he can be courteous and rude, nostalgic and funny, elegant, convincing and relaxed'

Any passably cultured inhabitant of the British Isles should ask for, say, three or four copies of this book

Full of stand-out facts . . . absolutely fascinating

Full of the good judgements one might hope for from such a sensible and readable commentator, and they alone are worth perusing for pleasure and food for thought

Jenkins has travelled the length and breadth of Great Britain's railways. Beautifully illustrated with colour photos, this is an uplifting exploration of our social history

Isaiah Berlin is considered one of the letter-writers of the 20th century... those who give into temptation to flick through will be infinitely rewarded

Sparkles with brilliance and generosity

Meticulously edited and footnoted.

So readable... wonderfully vivid portraits of Powell's famous acquaintances

Richly and movingly enjoyable... a tapestry of Powell's contemporaries

Publisher's description. A biography of the comic writer Anthony Powell, author of the million-word masterpiece A Dance to the Music of Time, from renowned British biographer Hilary Spurling. An insightful and surprising look into what drove the writer widely regarded as the English Proust.

Elkin is a beguiling writer, and resolutely female, her sentences doing what Virginia Woolf wanted women's sentences to do, which is to "hold back the male flood"… Flâneuse is a riposte to all that macho stomping about… Flâneuse is so rich with shining trinkets and wise thoughts that not a single page disappoints or bores. It's that rare thing these days - a work of feminism which is enthused by literature and art and ideas rather than pop culture.

Elkin explores the history of people and places in astonishing detail. She writes with a passion and personality that creates the kind of familiarity which encourages us to believe that the women she studies were close friends of hers… Elkin's first person, colloquial yet witty style lets you into the recesses of her imagination and invites you to be her travel companion

Lauren Elkin is one of our most valuable critical thinkers – the Susan Sontag of her generation

The acclaimed historian of Russia sweeps the brittle high society of pre-Revolutionary St Petersburg, the terror-chilled jails of Stalin's purges and the secrets of 1990s Moscow archives into a tragic panorama.'

A seamlessly written and moving portrait of the soviet Union in miniature from the Revolution to the age of Yeltsin.

What is striking is how he has thrown himself heart and soul into the romance and emotion of his drama. The novel throbs with sex, maternal feeling, revolutionary fervour and terror ... Terrific stuff