Just how clever is Clive James!! - Rated 
The great thing about Clive James is that as you read his essays you get a really positive feeling that he is sharing not just his opinions but his experiences and influences. He is one of those cultural attrators that will set you off on a complete tangent and open up new vistas in your reading life. I've read North Face of Soho and this book back to back and can't wait to dip into some of the many recommendations offered.
Look how clever I am - Rated 
I am a huge fan of Clive James and wouldn't disagree with a lot of the positive comments made about this book but I do get the uneasy feeling that it is a little too ostentatious in its display of knowledge. I got the same feeling watching some of the programmes in his Interviews from the Library series - some of them became "pissing contests" with James and his interviewee trying to outdo each other with their wideranging and obscure references; well, this is his pissing contest with the world!!
A rare talent, a cultural genius and an extraordinary thinker... - Rated
Clive James should still be on the small screen, but then again he doesn't fit comfortably on the small screen since he is culturally so far above it. The small screen continues to sink while he continues to rise and astound us with his wit, his genius and his literary brilliance.
I am still reading the book but every time I pick it up and taste the delights inside, I am astonished. Every thinking human being should have this on their bookshelf it is a gem of a book, a treasure trove of genius.
A Very Personal History - Rated
Somewhere just after half-way through this epic journey through the lives and minds of some of Clive James' heroes and villains of the modern age, we start to -how shall I say it? - get the point; the Nazis and the Stalinists were very bad guys and most of the subjects of this book are to be judged by their response to this basic fact. So far , so good, so humanist. But after, as I said, a certain point the arguments become repetitive, bludgeoning and tired (not to say tiring). Of course the point can never be made often enough, but what is unforgivable for a writer of Clive James' immense erudition and stylistic mastery, is that he ends up making the subject tedious. In contrast, within this book itself, there are wonderful portraits of Camus, Eric Satie and Scott Fitzerald among a few others that shine with clear-eyed craftsmanship and wit.
And for a writer who repeatedly reminds us of his wide knowledge of languages, there are at least two howlers which even a rudimentary acquaintance with Spanish would have prevented: Mario Vargas LLosa's collection of essays is called "Contra Viento y Marea" not "Contro...", and the interview with Fidel Castro is entitled "Nada Podra Detener la Marcha de la Historia" and not the strange pidgin Spanish that appears in the book. (It took me one minute to check these on the Internet). Unfortunately these errors tend to undermine the whole admirable undertaking. What of the errors I didn't spot?
Despite all this, it is a comforting book to treasure and to keep. While there are writers like James who burn with humanistic anger and love, to whom the arts and the liberal voice are still of the utmost urgency, there is hope for us all.
Surprisingly Cerebral - Rated
A seriously enlightening read: Clive James has opened my eyes and mind to a great many figures of cultural and historical significance that I simply wasn't previously aware of. Anyone reading this who previously assumed Clive James's talents were limited to taking the mick out of Japanese TV game shows will be in for a shock.
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