A well-written, interesting selection of essays and book reviews, but each piece is essentially too short, making the collection as a whole hard to read. ( )

I love reading Mr Rushdie's essays. They are insightful and thought provoking and are the kind of writing that I pull out from time to time and re-read. I have to admit I have the same admiration for some of the essays by Ian McEwan, another of my favourite authors. Mr Rushdie's talents extend beyond fiction and if you have found his fiction too heavy try reading his non-fiction.. ( )

either ya love the guy, or ya don't. i love the guy. ( )

Rushdie calls his controversial novel The Satanic Verses "a migrant's-eye view of the world," and indeed the theme of cultural transplantation informs many of the 75 essays and reviews gathered in this impressive collection. Whether he is analyzing racial prejudice in Britain or surveying an India riven by fundamentalism and politics of religious hatred, he writes as an impartial observer, a citizen of the world. Subtle and witty, these concise, eloquent pieces are a pleasure to read. Rushdie's wide-ranging, sympathies range from Grace Paley's stories to Thomas Pynchon's political allegories. He situates such writers as Gunter Grass, John le Carre and Mario Vargas Llosa in a political context. Along with a devastating review of the movie Gandhi and a withering portrayal of Margaret Thatcher's class-ridden, jingoist Britain, there are two resounding replies to critics of The Satanic Verses : Rushdie explains the book's intentions and defends the freedom of the writer.