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.
R.W. Johnson, author of 17 books and innumerable articles, attended schools in the UK and South Africa, did his first degree at the University of Natal and was then a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford. For 26 years he was a Fellow and Tutor at Magdalen College, Oxford and he remains a Fellow of the College. An expert in French, British, American and South African politics, his books have ranged over all these interests and for many years he also wrote for The (London) Times, Sunday Times, the London Review of Books, Le Monde Diplomatique and other titles in the international media. Johnson's writings have been widely praised and have often excited controversy. He is a master of the essay form and his essays have had a wide circulation. He is married to the Russian scholar, Irina Filatova, and they live in Cape Town.
