This collection of hard-hitting and highly readable essays reflects
Gombrich's preoccupation with the central questions of value and
tradition in our culture. He confronts - with characteristic incision
and erudition - some of the most urgent issues that challenge today's
students of art and civilization.
His topics include a series of radical proposals for the reform of
higher education, an assault on the notion of relativism and a heartfelt
plea for the conservation of our cities, alongside thought-provoking and
engaging studies of the works of Oskar Kokoschka, Abram Games, Saul
Steinberg and Henri Cartier-Bresson.