Conrad described the twenty-six essays collected here as a "one-man show" comprising "Conrad literary, Conrad political, Conrad reminiscent, Conrad controversial", but never Conrad "with his boots off". He is particularly passionate when writing on Russian autocracy, on Poland's under-appreciated past and its hopes for the future, and on the self-serving blather of promoters loudly proclaiming that the sinking of the Titanic held no lessons for anyone but that the vessel should have had fewer lifeboats, and that her captain should have aimed to strike any iceberg head on. There are quieter, more tender recollections here too, including Conrad's appreciation of Stephen Crane, whom Conrad knew personally and liked very much, and a moving account of his return to Poland after a long absence at the very moment the Great War was breaking out. (Summary by Peter Dann)

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