A lifetime of reading.
A lifetime of writing.
A lifetime of ideas.

Through his books, Ian McEwan has become one of the great storytellers of our time, as well as one of our most important public intellectuals. His work explores the human psyche with extraordinary insight and sensitivity, and grapples with the challenges and miracles of our time with an irresistible curiosity - from climate change, technology, science and law to political upheaval and war. Generations of readers have come to cherish his fiction and trust it to help them understand themselves as well as the world around them.

This landmark collection brings together for the first time his piercingly brilliant, wide-ranging essays, composed across his life and ranging from intimate personal recollection to bold intellectual inquiry. They illuminate the ideas, passions, experiences and questions that have shaped his life and work, and are essential reading.