An utterly thrilling and intellectually revelatory book. At a time when everything seems to be in freefall, and we are all trying to make sense of who we should be in a time of crisis, this is a stunningly wise book. If you read it, you’ll learn about some of the deepest questions human beings can ask – and get closer to the answers

A compelling new book by Simon Ings about the corrupting effect of power on literary talent

Ings gives his readers a concise round-up of the intellectual ground in which the twentieth-century dictatorships took root. He has a talent for succinct statements so well turned that they immediately ring true … His openings are arrestingly quirky. He cleverly leaves out the boring bits to offer the reader a staccato sequence of telling vignettes. His tone – by turns breezy and bitterly sardonic – is engaging … Rather than plod through the welter of historical facts, he skips lightly from resonant incident to ringing quotation. His put-downs are trenchant, his asides witty, his exposition of political theory is clear and concise … his book is enlightening and surprisingly entertaining

[Ings is] the perfect guide to this peculiar selection of odd and ambitious writers … there are brilliant novelistic flourishes throughout as he frantically blurs the boundaries between fiction and non-fiction … There’s enough material in the vignettes alone for about four different books. Instead, we get just this one wild ride