Other People's Trades

Book excerpt: OTHER PEOPLE'S TRADES contains 43 essays originally written for newspaper publication. They are, in the author's words, 'the fruit of my roaming about as a curious dilettante for more than a decade ... invasions of the field, incursions into other people's hunting preserves, forays into the boundless territories of zoology, astronomy and linguistics' 'There is no contest. The noblest book of the year' Anita Brookner, SPECTATOR 'Read an essay or two every few days; it'll be like meeting him in a Turin cafe, hearing him talk of wonderful, funny and horrible things in his gentle, dry voce, with all the virtues of his chemist's training - 'humility, patience and method', a wonderful nose and eye, and a steady hand' NEW STATESMAN & SOCIETY 'Everything Primo Levi has ever written is well worth reading, and this collection is no exception' THE TIMES 'There is no contest. The noblest book of the year' SPECTATOR