
Among the most enjoyable of literary critics, Michael Dirda combines erudition with enthusiasm, a taste for the outr? and the forgotten, and a playful, understated wit. Like George Orwell or Gore Vidal, Dirda delights in popular genres, such as the detective novel and the ghost...

Surveying the dizzying universe of classic books, Michael Dirda, the Pulitzer Prize-winning literary essayist, proves himself to be one of the most engaging critics of our time--and great fun to read. Opening with an impassioned critique of modern reading habits, he then presents...