In Lives, an extraordinary writer encounters some remarkable people - and evokes their inner lives.

Peter Robb has an uncanny ability to get into the skin of other people: to show them in a new light, to home in on what makes them tick. In Australia, these range from Alex Dimitriades to Ivan Milat, from Marcia Langton to Julian Assange. In Italy, Robb immerses the reader in the worlds of Fellini, Caravaggio, Calvino and Pasolini. Elsewhere, his observations of EM Forster, Arthur Rimbaud, Peter Carey and Gore Vidal illuminate the real people behind the public image.

Featuring much previously unpublished material, this is a fascinating exploration of some notable lives - in all their variety, glamour and idiosyncrasy.