AA Gill is away by Gill, A. A

London: Cassell, 2002 9780304362158. Hardback. Fine/Fine. First edition. First printing?. A beautifully produced book with excellent quality paper and photos in B/W and colour. DW is not price-clipped and indicates that the publisher is Weidenfeld & Nicolson/Orion. This is at variance with the details inside the book itself. No annotations or inscriptions. "Whether describing the horror of famine in the Sudan, the tragic forgotten city of Kaliningrad or the anthropology of a motorway service station on the M1, this is A. A. Gill at his best: controversial, funny, full of compassion for those who deserve it; full of scorn for those who don't." Every weekend A.A. Gill entertained readers of the "Sunday Times" with his biting observations on television and his unsparing, deeply knowledgeable restaurant reviews. He was one of a tiny band of must-read journalists and it was always a disappointment when the words "A.A. Gill is away" appeared at the foot of his column. This book is the fruit of those absences: 22 long travel pieces that belie his reputation as a mere style journalist and master of vitriol. A A Gill was probably the most read columnist in Britain. Even those who wanted to hate him agreed that A A Gill was hopelessly, painfully funny. .