The Waste Land: A Biography of a Poem

Praise for Matthew Hollis and Now All Roads Lead to France "Excellent and absorbing.... A very intelligent and sympathetic study." -- Allan Massie, Wall Street Journal "An acute and unforgettable moving study of friendship and creativity." -- Sunday Times Biography of the Year "Engaging.... Hollis is adept at evoking the atmosphere of the time and at negotiating the complicated friendships and squabbles between... poets.... Hollis captures something far greater than a man's personal life, and far more elusive: the desire and struggle to write." -- Economist "[An] elegant and melancholy biography.... Hollis makes the ingenious case that Thomas's embrace of poetry after years of timid false starts was his greatest act of courage." -- The New Yorker "With calm grace and candid respect, Hollis gives contemporary relevance to the last powerful works of [Edward Thomas]." -- Times Books of the Year "Brilliant and superbly written.... Thomas is fortunate indeed to have attracted a biographer who measures up to his own giant stature." -- Sunday Telegraph "[An] excellent account... beautifully structured by place, year and season." -- Guardian "The best book about poetry... moving and insightful.... By its end the book is the perfect setting for Thomas's perfect poems." -- Times Literary Supplement "Thoughtful and scrupulous... a bravura critical performance." -- Sunday Times