Books v. Cigarettes --- Bookshop Memories --- Confessions of a Book Reviewer--- The Prevention of Literature --- My Country Right or Left --- How the Poor Die ---Such, Such Were the Joys.

Beginning with a dilemma about whether he spends more money on reading or smoking, George Orwell's entertaining and uncompromising essays go on to explore everything from the perils of second-hand bookshops to the dubious profession of being a critic, from freedom of the press to what patriotism really means.