Beginning with a dilemma about whether he spends more money on reading or smoking, George Orwell's entertaining and uncompromising essays go on to explore everything from the perils of second-hand bookshops to the dubious profession of being a critic, from freedom of the press to what patriotism really means.

A collection of Orwell’s compellingly perceptive essays on subjects from food to weather to unemployment, edited and introduced by Professor Michael Gardiner.