'One of the most interesting and valuable critics we possess' New Republic Susan Sontag's second collection of groundbreaking essays contains some of the most important pieces of criticism of the twentieth century, including the classics 'The Aesthetics of Silence', a brilliant account of language, thought and consciousness, and 'Trip to Hanoi', written during the Vietnam War. Here too is an excoriating account of America's identity and future, a robust and surprising discussion of pornography and other richly rewarding writings on art, film, literature and politics. 'Sontag emerges from Styles of Radical Will as an open and vulnerable intellect, a consciousness in process of transformation . . . brilliant and important' The Nation 'She has come to symbolize the writer and think in many variations- as analyst, rhapsodist, and roving eye, as public scold and portable conscience' Time