'He's 100% political herpes. Back in six months whatever you do' Camilla Long on Nigel Farage 'It's not enough to succeed. Friends must fail' Gore Vidal Nothing cuts deeper, or provides greater pleasure, than the perfect put-down. When it's directed at someone else. Matthew Parris's sublime collection of the rudest, funniest shin-kicks and barbs in human history, spanning ancient Roman graffiti to social media spats, gleefully cherry-picks the finest work of such masters of scorn as Dorothy Parker, Elizabeth I and A.A. Gill. Together, they offer conclusive proof that verbal abuse can, at its finest, be an exquisite art form. 'He has not a single redeeming defect' Benjamin Disraeli on William Ewart Gladstone 'The little shit Parris, with his perma-smirk' Alastair Campbell, on the editor of this book

The ideal stocking-filler - miniature in size and big on malevolence -- Francis Wheen * Mail on Sunday *
The clearest pen and the most fastidious sense of quality -- Alan Clark * The Times *
A beautiful collection of insults down the ages. Parris has a feel for language, a sense of history and a wonderful wit -- Books of the Year * Scotland on Sunday *
[A] glorious compendium of spite. * Daily Mail *

Matthew Parris worked for the Foreign Office before serving as an MP. He now writes as a columnist for The Times and the Spectator, and in 2011 won the Best Columnist award at the British Press Awards. He is the author of several books, including his autobiography Chance Witness and the bestselling The Spanish Ambassador's Suitcase.