Not For the Proud Man Apart

As in all other books in this series, I have nothing to propound, except that there is infinite interest to be found in books.

Theodore Dalrymple reads a lot and thinks about everything he reads. In Not for the Proud Man Apart, the latest in his series of essays inspired by his reading, he turns his attention to a wide range of writers (major and forgotten, English and Continental, ancient and modern) and finds something worth thinking about in each. The essays move between literary criticism, historical reflection, and philosophical observation, often in a single piece, delivered in the witty, precise prose for which Dalrymple is known. He propounds no thesis, only the conviction that good books reward attention without limit. Readers of Joseph Epstein and Clive James will find a kindred voice.

Theodore Dalrymple is a retired doctor and psychiatrist who has written many books, including Life at the Bottom, Admirable Evasions and The Strut and Trade of Charms.