
John Berger
From Life
$54.60
- Hardcover
400 pages
- Release Date
1 December 2026
Summary
An illuminating new life of the peerless thinker, artist and author of Ways of Seeing.
Tom Overton got to know John Berger around 2010, after he gave his archive to the British Library: a kind of homecoming to his birthplace, after a life lived mostly in self-imposed exile in Switzerland and France. Sometimes, while cataloguing this, Tom would email John about a piece of work. Then there’d come a call: ‘This is John. John Berger. Can I tell you a story?’ Tom realised he was b…
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780241262528 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 0241262526 |
| Author: | Tom Overton |
| Publisher: | Penguin Books Ltd |
| Imprint: | Allen Lane |
| Format: | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages: | 400 |
| Release Date: | 1 December 2026 |
| Weight: | 616g |
| Dimensions: | 36mm x 164mm x 242mm |

You Can Find This Book In
Critics Review
A vibrant biography of the pioneering critic … This multi-layered portrait is a fitting tribute to the man behind Ways of Seeing * The Guardian *
This extraordinary biography reveals not only the innovative and experimental nature of Berger’s historical and political insight, but the immense range of his intellectual output * Hans Ulrich Obrist *
Beautifully evocative, very moving, and splendidly written * Lisa Appignanesi *
John Berger is perhaps the only writer on art that I feel it essential to read. Tom Overton has written a brilliant account of his life and work * David Shrigley *
In Tom Overton’s remarkable biography, we meet Berger again as someone who touched every soul he met, and whose determination to find a way through and beyond the twentieth century saw him change with the times without ever relinquishing his faith in the things that could shore us up against the ravages of history: art, universalism, Marx, nature, humanity, friendship, love. A wonderfully tender monument to a unique and inspiring man * Devorah Baum *
Tom Overton
Tom Overton catalogued John Berger’s archive at the British Library before spending fifteen years tracing its influence from Moscow to Texas, and the Alps to Istanbul. He collaborated with Berger on editing Portraits: John Berger on Artists and Landscapes: John Berger on Art. He also worked with Matthew Harle on The Underground Sea: John Berger on Miners and the Miners’ Strike and with Katya Berger on a forthcoming edition of Berger’s letters. Overton has written for The Guardian, New Statesman, Frieze, and the London Review of Books and Paris Review blogs. He is the Archive Curator of the Barbican Centre and resides in Sheffield.
Returns
This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.



