'The reputations and influence of both writers only increase, making Lebedoffs wonderfully sympathetic interpretation of them a book those interested in either or both must read and will, most probably, love.'
Ray Olson, Booklist
'Orwell and Waugh may seem to have been opposites, but Lebedoff's well-told story of their endlessly fascinating lives highlights the things they shared.'
Editor's Choice, New York Times Book Review
'Lebedoff's unpretentious writing style...crackles with with and playfulness as well as ardent advocacy for these embattled twin prophets.... He laces his two brief biographies with sharp-edged details that brightly illuminate his subjects' innermost characters .... Brief and to the point, this thrillingly written study of two of the 20th century's great social icons will impel readers to return to their timeless works. Recommended for all libraries.'
Library Journal
'In The Same Man, David Lebedoff has pulled off a literary feat.'
Los Angeles Times
'For those wearied by doorstop biographies, this lean and urbane dual portrait is a breath of fresh air. As lawyer and writer Lebedoff makes clear, on the surface no two British writers could be more different ... Lebedoff nimbly compares and contrasts the lives and art of these literary titans.'
Publisher's Weekly
'I wolfed down The Same Man ... Lebedoff is a fine storyteller, with an eye for character and scene ... and The Same Man is wonderfully written.”
Readings Monthly
'An insightful, waspish book ... Lebedoff shows sureness of touch ... He highlights neatly (and hilariously) Waugh’s demonic streak of prankishness.'
The Economist
'enjoyable and provocative'
Jim Holt, The New York Times
'The Same Man places the work of these two literary giants cheek by jowl. Comparisons are riveting, but the conclusion is dire. For as we read Orwell and Waugh's prophetic warnings we cannot help a shiver of recognition. We have created a world they would have abhorred.'
Cristina Odone, The Times
'It’s hard not to be caught up by the force of Lebedoff’s passion ... The Same Man is consequently just the kind of book that both Waugh and Orwell, full of passion and conviction themselves, might have enjoyed.'
The Wall Street Journal
'An insightful, witty, immensely readable account of two giants of English literature whose work, in very different ways, prefigured the moral and political dilemmas bedeviling our society today.'
Lynne Olson, author of Troublesome Young Men
'Evelyn Waugh and George Orwell exemplified the brilliance of British writing in the 20th century, but we usually think of them as very different men. David Lebedoff shows how they were, in fact, quite alike in their discomfort with the modern age. This is especially reassuring to those of us who admire both of these writers.'
Walter Issacson, author of Einstein: His Life and Universe