It would be scarcely possible for a man of Mr Macaulay's talents and acquirements to write a volume so large as that before us, which should be wholly destitute of information and amusement. He writes a flowing, graceful line and can be very funny when he brutalises some poor author's offering. These are opinion pieces, and when one knows something of the subject, he is entertaining, whether you agree or disagree – these are also polarising pieces. I found myself skipping his opinions on historical periods of which I am ignorant. And then I found myself skipping other bits because ultimately he's not saying much of substance. And then I abandoned the book because at my time of life, why read something you only like half of. ( )