The other island

This massive volume weighs in at seven pounds on the bathroom scales and cost The Spectator £14.50 in stamps to send out for review. If it is difficult to write about, this is not because of its size and weight but because the eye is constantly caught and distracted by fascinating pieces of information, so that a reviewer reads on and postpones writing about it. (Which is, I suppose, the best mini-review such a compilation can hope for.)

The general editor, Brian Lalor, says in his preface that ‘16 senior consultant editors and 50 consultant contributors have guided a standing army of 950 writers in four continents…’ and that the whole enterprise was able to be compressed into four-and-a-half years only because of email. This is important because it gives the work a surprisingly up-to-date feel. If the process had taken too long some of the larger articles, on government, arts, crafts, theatre and so on — all attractively broken into sub-headings signed by different contributors — would have been inadequate before the book reached the press.