"Kingsley and Martin Amis are among the most successful British novelists of the last fifty years: both are known for their savage wit and their readiness to cause controversy." "Amis & Son: Two Literary Generations offers the first joint appraisal of this highly unusual literary dynasty. Although both father and son are most celebrated for their comic fiction, their work covers a remarkable range of themes, ideas and influences. This account shows how industry as well as artistry remains a family trait: apart from literary fiction, their joint output includes poetry, essays and reviews; a James Bond novel; a survey of science fiction; alternative visions of present and future Britain; apocalyptic short stories of nuclear paranoia; and books on grammar, drink, and Space Invaders. And this is without counting Kingsley Amis's letters, one of the richest (and longest) volumes of humorous writing in the English language, and his son's volume of memoirs, Experience." "In this biography, Neil Powell examines how these two authors were formed by their background and education, how they developed as writers, and how in turn they affected literature and each other. He examines Kingsley Amis's two great creative partnerships - with his friend Philip Larkin and with his second wife Elizabeth Jane Howard - and the creative tension between father and son, following Kingsley from jazz-loving iconoclast to Thatcherite Conservative and Martin from his literary precocity to his middle-aged fame."--BOOK JACKET.