George Orwell 
Shooting an Elephant 

 »Shooting an Elephant » is Orwell »s searing and painfully honest account of his experience as a police officer in imperial Burma; killing an escaped elephant in front of a crowd  »solely to avoid looking a fool ». The other masterly essays in this collection include classics such as  »My Country Right or Left »,  »How the Poor Die » and  »Such, Such were the Joys », his memoir of the horrors of public school, as well as discussions of Shakespeare, sleeping rough, boys » weeklies and a spirited defence of English cooking. Opinionated, uncompromising, provocative and hugely entertaining, all show Orwell »s unique ability to get to the heart of any subject.