Translated by Martin McLaughlin

'A classic book at bedtime, a seductive invitation to forgotten opportunities' The Times

Why Read the Classics? is an elegant defence of the value of great literature by one of the finest authors of the last century. Beginning with an essay on the attributes that define a classic (number one - classics are those books that people always say they are 'rereading', not 'reading'), this is an absorbing collection of Italo Calvino's witty and passionate criticism.

With thirty-six essays - including thoughts on figures like Homer, Hemingway, Borges, Tolstoy and Twain - Why Read the Classics? represents Calvino's own canon of great works and is full of the fascinating insights of the mercurial, incisive mind of a brilliant reader, as well as writer.

'One of the most inspiring justifications of great literature I've ever come upon' Sunday Telegraph