Flirtation, Seduction, Betrayal: Interviews with Heroes and Villains [Hardcover]

'Mr Farndale has a lot of explaining to do.' - Michael Parkinson 'Both Elton and myself feel very hurt and let down.' Simon Prytherch, Sir Elton John's publicist 'He thinks I'm soggy and too nice does he? Well tell him the next time I see him I'm going to punch him on the nose.' - Sir Tim Rice 'Oh God! This wouldn't be one of those profiles where you try to figure him out, would it?' - Arnold Schwarzenegger's publicist

"Farndale excels thanks to a masterly sense of balance — he neither hero worships nor wields the hatchet."

"Farndale is one of the most dangerously skilful and perceptive interviewers at work today. This is a small classic, funny, ironic and merciless."

Geoffrey Boycott, James Hewitt, Elton John, Clive James, Jeffrey Archer, Max Clifford, Des Lynam, Tony Parsons, Tim Rice, Michael Holroyd, Nigel Dempster, Michael Parkinson, Richard Dawkins, Seamsu Heaney, Stephen Hawking, Steven Spielberg, The Dalai Lama and Henry Kissinger are some of Nigel Farndale's 50 subjects in this first collection of his interviews from the "Sunday Telegraph Magazine".

'Mr Farndale has a lot of explaining to do . . .' Michael Parkinson

'Both Elton and myself feel very hurt and let down . . .' Simon Prytherch, Sir Elton John's Publicist

'The great thing about Nigel's interviews is that not only are they funny, but they are also incredibly perceptive and surprising. I find him annoyingly good.' Lynn Barber, Observer

'Farndale is the cleverest, sharpest and most observant interviewer of his generation. He misses nothing and writes seemlessly. Only the brave should risk inviting this man into their home.' Matthew Norman , Guardian

'As a writer, Nigel Farndale is deft, wry and spikey. What makes him outstanding as an interviewer though, is his intense curiosity.' Craig Brown, Private Eye

Nigel Farndale is a feature writer and columnist for the Sunday Telegraph Magazine and was named Interviewer of the Year at the British Press Awards 2000. His first novel, A Sympathetic Hanging, was published in 2000 and his biography of Commander John Kerans, Last Action Hero of the British Empire, was published in 2001. He is married, with two sons, and lives in London.