A bold and bright reference to the novels and the writers that have excited the world's imagination. An incisive guide to the books which have had impact - whether in the form of critical acclaim or cult classic. An eclectic selection by an international team of writers, critics, academics and journalists, a new take on old classics and a guide to what's hot in the huge contemporary fiction market. Featuring more than 600 full-colour images of book covers and frontispieces, posters and other contextual images, and detailed with quotes from individual novels, this is the ideal book for anybody who loves to read.