R.W. Johnson’s articles and essays travel far beyond Southern Africa, reaching readers across continents. Their appeal lies not only in their acuity but also in his exceptional range of subjects – political, historical and cultural. As a former Oxford don and a leading international commentator, Johnson remains unmatched as an interpreter of national and world events.
Whether he’s writing about politics in South Africa, Europe or the United States, the new space race, the leading personalities of our time, or even soccer, his views are always sharp, clear, deeply informed and original.
These essays belong unmistakably to the tradition of George Orwell. Orwell aspired to make political writing an art form, but his finest essays – even those on seemingly trivial subjects such as boys’ comics – revealed both a penetrating intelligence and remarkable breadth. Johnson’s writing is similar in spirit: like Orwell’s, his essays can be read consecutively or dipped into at random, each one offering something striking and original.
The result is A Roving Eye, a book that is not just distinctive but truly unique, marked by depth, range, humanity and a rare sophistication.
