Frank and incisive essays, by an affectionate observer, that amount to a quick course in Indian society and politics.

Bartok's incisive, searching essay for percussion and two pianos started off well, but the quietly evocative opening never picked up in intensity and sharpness of expression.

In this funny, incisive essay, buttressed with some spoof quotations from scholars like Philippa Rieff, Ms. Steinem excoriates Freud for his damaging interpretation of female sexuality.

In her incisive essay she nips a few Icons of Feminist Art Theory in the ankle.

And in two brilliantly incisive essays on the development of Rousseau's political philosophy, Mr. Bloom shows how widely the French thinker opened the doors on questions that today are thoughtlessly dismissed as all but closed.

He later freelanced, working for several papers, and for more than 40 years, until his death in 2008, he filed what his publisher calls "elegant and incisive essays".

In the most discerning and incisive essays, Mr. Price ruminates on our shared need for heroes, the impulse to create, the significance of the word "home" and the mysterious ways in which personal history and collective myth combine in the making of art.

Each of its 1,000 entries on artists, performers and cultural movements is accompanied by an incisive essay and a small set of links to related Web sites (www.artandculture.com).

Frank and incisive essays by an affectionate observer.