Risky Business

This is the essential Al Alvarez - the only book to contain the full range of his writing and the book all his fans will want Includes Alvarez on some of the literary greats of the twentieth century: Jean Rhys, Sylvia Plath, Philip Roth, Alice Munro and Philip Larkin For fans of Frank Kermode, Martin Amis's The War Against Cliche and James Wood's The Irresponsible Self

Al Alvarez's writing career has come in many guises. One of the most influential post-war critics, he has written profoundly and eloquently about writers and their craft for over fifty years. But Alvarez has also been a passionate amateur of risky pursuits and has written about these subjects with perception. This is a collection of his essays.Al Alvarez's writing career has come in many guises. One of the most influential post-war critics, he has written profoundly and eloquently about writers and their craft for over fifty years. But Alvarez has also been a passionate amateur of risky pursuits - poker playing, mountaineering, flying in aeroplanes - and he has written about these subjects with a rare depth, liveliness and perception. This is a collection of his finest essays. Ranging from trenchant literary criticism to accounts of polar expeditions and poker championships, "Risky Business" is a sparkling and eclectic anthology from our most unusual man of letters.