'Sandwiched between two dissections of the difference between celebrity and recognition are stylish analyses of writers from Philip Larkin to Philip Roth, celebrations of The West Wing and The Sopranos and even a lament for the decline of Formula One motor racing. What unites them is James's distinctive tone and his ability to combine seriousness of intent with the fluency and wit for which he is best known' Sunday Times Literary critic, cultural commentator, TV documentary film maker, journalist, novelist, poet, political analyst, satirist and Formula One fan: Clive James is a man (and master) of many talents. A contemporary everyman, he is also unmistakably himself, and The Meaning of Recognition - which takes the reader from London to Bali, from the theatre to the library, from pre-election campaigning to sitting at home watching TV - shows him at his most intelligent, insightful, honest and heartfelt. 'Clive James, the most glorious prose stylist of his generation, refuses to stop learning ever more about the world' New Statesman, Books of the Year 'Wonderful stuff: yet more evidence of James's vast and learned sanity, piquantly expressed . . . The subjects are startlingly varied but the tone is constant: erudite, engaged and engaging, and invariably glazed with wit' Daily Telegraph