'A rigorous thinker armed with a killer turn of phrase ' Observer 'Her writing is razor-sharp, personal, and vociferous in its proclamations, but it's also fun - it's got bite' New Statesman ' A galaxy-brain-level thinker ' Torrey Peters A bold, provocative collection of essays by a Pulitzer winner on one of the most urgent questions of our time: what is authority when everyone has an opinion on everything? This book brings together sharp, illuminating essays on everything from musical theatre to sci-fi novels, as well as an acclaimed tetralogy of personal essays. Throughout, Andrea Long Chu defies the imperative to leave politics out of art, charging fellow critics with complacent humanism and modelling how the left might brave the culture wars with both its faculty of judgment and its sense of justice intact. 'A pure joy to read' Claire Dederer 'Provocative, beautiful and addictive. I couldn't stop reading' Angela Saini 'Thrilling. Authority reminds us we haven't yet felt all there is to feel' Kaveh Akbar.