Book excerpt: Alister Kershaw, Aldington's closest friend from 1947until his death in 1962, here presents ten trenchant and refreshing essays, not previously published in book form, by perhaps the last of the great literary critics to come to grips with the "jubilant illiteracy" of these times. In his highly personal and reflective Introduction, Kershaw discusses Aldington's deep involvement in life, the catholicity of his interests, and his con­siderable erudition, which gave his writing an unusual quality of spontaneity and eloquence.