Two of the most successful British novelists of the last fifty years, Kingsley and Martin Amis are both known for their savage wit and their indifference to causing controversy.

In his critical biography, Neil Powell looks at the careers of these two very divisive, and hugely talented writers: how they were formed by their upbringings, developed as writers and in turn how they affected literature, and each other. He examines how success (which is the title of one of Martin Amis's novels) affected their relationship, and themselves as writers (Kingsley: Martin's spending a year abroad for tax purposes. 29, he is. Little shit. ). Through this we see what it has meant to be a man, and a writer, (and, most importantly, a comic writer) in Britain over the last sixty years, following Kinglsey from jazz-loving iconoclast to Thatcher-loving Tory and Martin from wild young man of letters to God knows what.

Neil Powell's previous books include biographies of Roy Fuller and George Crabbe, a book on Jazz, The Language of Jazz, and several collections of poetry. He has also been a long standing editor of poetry collections for Carcanet Press.