Francis Bacon by John Russell

Has there ever been a more consistently excellent series of books in any field than Thames & Hudon's World Of Art series? I can't think of another contender. This is a particularly good one, by an astute writer who knew Bacon, and is willing to go off on some fascinating digressions - some are of less relevance than the space taken perhaps warrants, but as a reader they are all worth it. My only disagreement is with his view of an artist making continual positive progress: I still like his '40s work best, and felt he fell into a pattern that lacked the early fire.