John Berger: From Life by Tom Overton review – a vibrant biography of the pioneering critic
Xan Brooks | The Guardian | 10th August 2026
An especially eloquent review of the biography of John Berger, the politically engaged British cultural critic who changed how we see art. He opposed the “great man” theory of art, arguing instead that viewers need to be aware art is produced for a marketplace. It is thus a “manifestation of art and politics. We never look at just one thing he said.” We are always looking at the relation between things and ourselves. “There is no single version of a story.”