Deborah Friedell

'I am impressed by the diversity and range of the learning Ross Hamilton applies to a difficult and varied topic, largely invented by himself.' 'His work on philosophy, literature and psychoanalysis was described by Jacques Derrida as "superbe".' A woman's struggle to keep love alive, as her husband, John Clare, descends into madness.' 'Alan Bennett meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer.' 'Ben Dolnick is 23 and lives in New York. Ben's uncle, Arthur Golden, is the author of Memoirs of a Geisha.'

Julian Shuckburgh's new biography of J.S. Bach includes images by Caroline Wilkinson, a 'forensic facial-reconstructor'. Wilkinson used laser scans of the Haussmann portrait and a bronze cast of Bach's skull to build computer models of the composer's head. Can new busts for gracing piano lids be far behind?

Andrew O'Hagan's new novel, The Life and Opinions of Maf the Dog, and of His Friend Marilyn Monroe, will be published in May.

A selection of recent book dedications, the last two from the same novel: a prize for guessing who it's by. 'I'd like to thank my girlfriend... who travelled with me while I did the field work, and read through the whole manuscript at stages. Admittedly she was paid handsomely in fine Italian wine.' 'In Memoriam Matris' 'To Barack and Michelle Obama, and the future of American art' 'To complainers everywhere' 'to mine enemies, without whom none of this would have been possible' 'Animals possess a purity that exceeds even that of children and they have much to teach us, if only we will cease our arrogance and listen.

Two months before Richard Reid tried to blow up American Airlines 63 with his high-tops, he took a flight to Israel on El Al. The airline's security team questioned him, as they do all passengers, and couldn't find a reason not to let him fly; but his body was searched, his luggage was put through a decompression chamber and hand-checked, and an air marshal was put in the seat next to him. El Al likes to boast that the 9/11 hijackers would never have succeeded on one of their planes: I don't disbelieve them. Last week I flew from London to Tel Aviv and back on El Al.