PositiveAir MailThe eight-hander format might have undone The Last Action Heroes were it not for its deft, hilarious, overlapping weave of anecdotes and detail ... What’s the moral of The Last Action Heroes? I would venture to say that any book that relates Van Damme’s boast during the filming of Universal Soldier that he “could crack a walnut open with his ass cheeks” perhaps doesn’t need one.
Will Gompertz
MixedThe Washington PostThere are passages of charm ... On the whole, however, the analysis and turns of phrase are not particularly profound or satisfying ... See What You’re Missing belongs loosely to the \'last line\' genre; that is, any book, play or film in which the spirit of the work’s title is channeled into its concluding utterance or phrase ... A single throwaway line may be necessary. Arrayed one after another, these maxims begin to grate ... Gompertz is enthusiastic and open-minded, yet he rarely surprises.
Ed. by David Dawson
RaveAir MailI am inclined to agree that their volume is \'among the most revealing, illuminating, and entertaining collections of artist’s letters in existence.\' Love Lucian is beautifully presented, and contextualized with wit and an expert’s discernment. It doesn’t hurt that Freud was one of the century’s great talkers, rogues, and talents ... Love Lucian keeps the whole always in view.
Namit Arora
PositiveAir Mail[Arora\'s] lost worlds\' have been excavated by others, yet no one has submitted them to such collective, enlightened inquiry.
Anthony M. Amore
RaveThe New York Times Book ReviewAs Amore illustrates with an irresistible blend of wryness and affection, [Rose\'s] adopted proletarian role was not always convincing or particularly noble ... Amore’s winning detachment is unchanged as Rose evolves from debutante to desperado ... Amore’s publisher has falsely advertised his droll, engaging book as an \'unbelievable\' heist story. Ocean’s 8 (or 11, 12, 13) it’s not, Dugdale is more Fawlty than Ocean. Yet this in no way diminishes the pleasures of The Woman Who Stole Vermeer. Rose is terrific company: clever, forthright and flamboyant.
Daisy Dunn
PositiveAir Mail... clever, engaging ... Dunn recounts [Pliny\'s] afterlife with gusto, from the unlikely embrace of pious Renaissance scholars and dueling views on the location of the Plinys’ birthplaces (Verona and Como) to his 19th-century appeal for Mary Shelley. To Tacitus, Pliny lionized \'those men with a god-given gift for doing what deserves to be written about or writing what deserves to be read—and very lucky are those who can do both. Through his own books and yours, my uncle will be one of these.\' Dunn’s book, too, deserves to be read.