Closing the circle: The best of Way of the world

by Auberon Waugh

A collection of the best of The Way of the World, Auberon Waugh's deliciously funny and acutely observed column in the Daily Telegraph, with an introduction by Waugh's successor on the Way of the World, satirist and best-selling author, Craig Brown.. In it Auberon Waugh muses on subjects of national importance and discusses more parochial happenings near his Somerset home. How should he, as President, Chairman and only known member of Vespa, the Venerable Society for the Protection of Adulterers, react to the news that scientists have produced a device that can trace the exact location of errant husbands? And what can he do to ensure the church fete's underwater baby-racing competition takes place despite safety warnings from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents? Certain threads run through his columns - the battle against draconian drink-driving laws, the beneficial effects of smoking on children, the efforts to enshrine the memory of Fred Hill, who died while in Pentonville prison, jailed for refusing to wear a motorcycle helmet. There are a few triumphs - Waugh allows himself some pleasure when it is revealed that, as he had been saying for years, hamburgers and mar

Genres: Essays

496 pages, Hardcover

First published November 9, 2001

About the author

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auberon_...
http://www.amconmag.com/blog/shock-an...

Reviews

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

One wonders if the gift comes with the genes. Even when his point of view departs radically from my own (which is not often), his writing is always a delight - sharp, skilled; outrageously, gorgeously funny and satisfying. Would love to have known this man.

[Andrew Darling · Rating 3 out of 5]

Auberon Waugh has always made me laugh, but - like father, like son - his humour seemed to diminish as he grew older. The early Private Eye diaries of Auberon Waugh were splendid - an excellent gag on every page and pretty well on every line. You have to work quite a lot harder to find such rewards in his Way of the World pieces in the Torygraph, which too frequently seem to consist of the waspishness without the leavening wit.