Green cloth binding with gilt title and decoration on the spine. Volume I only.

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A very good rendition of this most famous work. This book strikes a happy medium of being a quality book with a bit of age yet not one that breaks the bank,

Review: The best biography ever written. For me there are three main strands: 1) Johnson’s life by Boswell, mainly reliable as Boswell’s attempts to give this or that emphasis to his friend’s actions or opinions are pretty transparent 2) Johnson’s life in his own words (via his letters in particular, some of which are spectacular) and 3) Boswell’s notes, which are frequently and unintentionally hilarious, particularly when he is castigating Sir John Hawkins, Johnson’s previous biographer.

So as I’m sure people must have observed before you actually get almost as clear a picture of Boswell as you do of Johnson, but the beauty of the whole thing is you never completely trust Boswell, which actually makes this a wonderful critical biography. Perhaps most importantly, this gave me a fresh perspective on Johnson as a man and a writer and has inspired me to read his own works.

At risk of sounding patronising, I think this really is a book for middle aged people. If I had read this as a young man I would not have got this at all. Now, having been knocked about by life a bit, I find it deeply moving.

The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D. by James Boswell is a 1791 biography of English writer and literary critic Samuel Johnson. The work was from the beginning a universal critical and popular success, and represents a landmark in the development of the modern genre of biography. Many have called it the greatest biography written in English, one of the greatest biographies ever written, and among the greatest nonfiction books of all time. The book is valued as both an important source of information on Johnson and his times, as well as an important and enduring work of literature.

NOTE: This is an original  book from the library gathered by the famous Cambridge Don, computer scientist, food and wine connoisseur, Jack Arnold LANG. Note: Jack founded the Michelin Guide ‘Midsummer House’- Cambridge’s paramount restaurant. This dining experience is hidden amongst the grassy pastures and grazing cattle of Midsummer Common and perched on the banks of the River Cam. 

In 2008, Jack was one of the co-founders of the Raspberry Pi Foundation, alongside other members of the Department, and acted as the Foundation’s Chair. The project’s original goals were modest: to build and distribute low-cost computers for prospective applicants to our Computer Science degree. Initially the project was a “success disaster”, as Jack would say, as demand far outstripped the low-scale manufacturing plans. Ultimately the Raspberry Pi became the UK’s most successful computer with more than 60 million sold to date. Jack was drawn to the educational possibilities of the Raspberry Pi, its potential uses in emerging economies and the way it could support self-directed learning.