The Meaning of Recognition

<p><b>With essays taking the reader from London to Bali, theatre to library and from election campaigns to television, <i>The Meaning of Recognition</i> collects the best of Clive James on art, culture and politics from 2001–2005.</b><br><br>Whether analysing Bing Crosby, Bruno Schulz or Shakespeare, celebrating <i>The Sopranos </i>and<i> The West Wing</i>, or lamenting the decline of Formula One, Clive James writes with style and substance, offering food for thought across a huge variety of subjects. <br><br>On Pushkin, Philip Roth, or the nature of celebrity, he is always sane, engaged and unmistakably himself. This collection shows Clive at his witty, learned and heartfelt best.<br><br><b>‘Clive James, the most glorious prose stylist of his generation, refuses to stop learning ever more about the world’ — <i>New Statesman</i><br><br>''[Clive] can both get to the heart of a subject and raise a laugh'' – <i>Sunday Times</i><br><br>Clive James</b> (1939–2019) was a broadcaster, critic, poet, memoirist and novelist. His much-loved, influential and hilarious television criticism is available both in individual volumes and collected in <i>Clive James On Television</i>. His encyclopaedic study of culture and politics in the twentieth century, <i>Cultural Amnesia</i>, remains perhaps the definitive embodiment of his wide-ranging talents as a critic. <br><br><b>Praise for Clive James:<br><br>''The perfect critic'' – A.O. Scott, <i>New York Times</i><br><br>''There can''t be many writers of my generation who haven''t been heavily influenced by Clive James'' – Charlie Brooker <br><br>''A wonderfully witty and intelligent writer'' – Verity Lambert</b></p>