'Berlin at his best: quick-minded, erudite, witty and profound and, above all, exciting. To read this book...is to feel the force of living thought coming white-hot from the forge of a superb mind', John Banville, Irish Times .'This is their first appearance in print, and they're a treat...You hear the waves of words swelling, crashing, only to surge once more...revealing, exciting, elemental, intense. That's just what romanticism is about', Eugen Weber, Key Reporter .'Isaiah Berlin at the height of his glory', Michael Foot, Independent on Sunday .'Exhilaratingly thought-provoking', Iain Finlayson, The Times .'A profound, if often tantalising, contribution to an understanding of the West's culture...This is a book that would be as salutary a read for prime ministers and presidents as for those who see themselves as cultural critics', Peter Mudford, The Times Higher Education Supplement .'In an era where humane intellectual discourse has been deconstructed, intertextualised, phallicised and generally kicked senseless, Berlin's writing shines like a beacon', Rupert Christiansen, Spectator