Letters from London, 1990-1995

"Here, brought together for the first time, are Julian Barnes' already celebrated pieces of the last five years for the New Yorker. The subjects covered are mostly political but offer immense insights into human nature and general behaviour that no one interested in current affairs and the modern society can afford to miss. Opening with the first live television broadcast of the House of Commons, he moves onto Margaret Thatcher's fall and Sir Geoffrey Howe's part in it, John Major as politician and private individual, the Royal Family, Margaret Thatcher's memoirs and Tony Blair's prospects as the new Labour leader. We see him on the campaign trail of Nigel Short in his battle with Gary Kasparov in the 1993 World Chess Finals. There is a classic investigation of the Lloyd's insurance disaster and the Harrods take-over, an assessment of Salman Rushdie's plight and an analysis of the implications of the Channel Tunnel. Superbly written with telling observation and extractable quotations on almost every page, Letters from London is a priceless collection and important piece of literary history" --