About this Item
There are books written by experts, books written by specialists, and then there is Master of None (1958) by Gilbert Harding, which wears its title like a badge of honour and invites you to consider that knowing a bit about everything might, in fact, be far more entertaining. Harding himself was something of a character?broadcaster, panel-show regular, professional contrarian, and a man whose opinions tended to arrive unfiltered and stay that way. This book reflects exactly that. It is not a tightly focused treatise, nor does it pretend to be. Instead, it wanders, observes, comments, and occasionally prods at the world with a mixture of wit, irritation, and reluctant affection. If you are expecting a neat argument with a tidy conclusion, you may find yourself gently disappointed. If, on the other hand, you enjoy a sharp mind ranging freely across its subject matter, you are very much in the right place. There is a distinctly mid-20th-century flavour to the whole thing: dry humour, confident prose, and the sense that the author is perfectly happy to assume you can keep up. Harding does not labour his points, nor does he dilute them. He simply presents them, often with a raised eyebrow, and moves on. It is the literary equivalent of a well-aimed remark delivered across a room?brief, pointed, and not especially concerned with whether it has been universally approved. This 1958 Putnam edition carries all that along in a straightforward, no-nonsense format. It is a book that looks as though it has been read rather than curated, which is exactly as it should be. Condition-wise, this is a good copy as sold by Crappy Old Books. It shows the expected signs of age and handling, but remains entirely solid and readable, with the sort of quiet resilience that suggests it has been through a few conversations of its own. In short, Master of None is less a manual and more a companionable ramble in the company of someone who has seen a good deal, thought about it, and decided to share the results without too much polishing. A pleasingly idiosyncratic volume for readers who prefer their books opinionated, their humour dry, and their authors unafraid to admit that expertise is sometimes overrated.
Seller Inventory # 6304
Contact seller
Report this item
