... The macho dancers' rise ANN NUGENT on an informative study of men's place in ballet Men Dancing, by Alexander Bland and John Percival (Weidenfeld & Nicholson, £15). If in the last century the male dancer s role was primarily subservient to his partner, the arrival of megastars such as Nureyev and Baryshnikov, coupled with not a little common sense, has now put the balance right. Men and women ...

... Old Moore's Almanac Roger Moore, by Roy Moseley with Philip and Martin Masheler (New English Library, £9.95) I must be one of the dwindling band who saw Roger Moore in what was virtually his only West End theatre appearance, in Dodie Smith's I Capture the Castle at the Aldwych at the beginning of 1954. It would be nice to say that I immediately recognised him as a star, but in common with ...

... Merce's moves The Dancer and the Dance: Merce Cunningham in conversation with Jac queline Lesschaeve (Marion Boyars Ltd, £18). In accepting on his benalt Merce Cunningham's recent Olivier award for the outstanding new dance production of 1985 (for Pictures), Richard Alston referred to the American as a genius. It was so succinct a comment that many who did not know his work may have had ...

... PETER HEPPLE cut his fingers on the contents of the knife box Cutting Edge, by Ned Sherrin (J.M. Dent, £8.95) Because he is no mean practitioner of verbal wit himself, Ned Sherrin is the ideal person to anthologise the wit of others. And how well he has gone about it in this book, which proves his own breadth of reading as well as his propensity for picking up the considered trifles of his ...

... Going through the mill Peter Hepple on a real-life overnight success story Through the Mill and Beyond, by Arthur English (Mildmay Books, 29 Glasshouse Street, W1R 5AP, £9.95) Of all the overnight success stories in show business, that of Arthur English is closest to the real thing. One morning in March 1949 a young painter and decorator, attired as a spiv, arrived at the Windmill. That same ...

... dramatis is the world has known. Both Shakespeare and Moliere lived for about 52 years. Both left an imperishable heritage, yet their manuscripts, their letters and most of the documents concerning their daily and family life have disappeared without trace. This has, of course, not prevented reams and reams of books being written about them. The latest to appear about the French comic ...

... paperback) It has always seemed to me to be easier to tell who isn't hip rather than who is, for it has nothing to do with what you wear or how you look. Which is why so few of today's pop stars are hip. They are inclined to be obsessed with style and image, hip people create their own and stick to it. Hip is, as the authors of this book state in their introduction, self-suffi ciency, assumed ...

... Colourful character The Barbirollis: a Musical Marriage, by Harold Atkins and Peter Cotes fRobson Books. £9.95) Harold Atkins, formerly in charge of the arts page of the Daily Telegraph, and Peter Cotes, one of those who first successfully presented classical music on television, have joined forces to produce a joint biography of Sir John Barbirolli, an exceptionally colourful character as ...

... Rebel with a cause McQueen, by William F Nolan (Arthur Barker £8.95). Steve McQueen was everyone's idea of the rebel with a cause who fights his way to the top, becoming one of the world's top pin-ups on the way there. Yet the rugged good looks and penetrating blue eyes that so captivated filmgoers hid a man with an almost desperate need to be loved. This latest and perhaps most intimate ...

... Nureyev than perhaps any other dancer, indeed since his defection from Russia in 1961 the world's press has hounded him with the enthusiasm reserved for a political leader given to controversial outbursts. So Clive Barnes' book has no need to re-present the man and his unique role in the history of 20th century ballet. It is a fascinating work (with many excellent photographs) though ...

... most written-about personality that ever lived. This is quite understandable: he was a towering genius, whose mature works are all still in the current reper tory and at the same time one of the most despicable among the human beings who cut a notable figure in the world; his chequered career therefore makes fascinating reading. No one will mind the constant additions to that huge library, ...

... and critic ism on Shakespeare's play ranging from Jacobean times to the present day, together with listings of the more significant productions and sources and influences. Among the modern-day contributors are Anne Barton, John Russell Brown, Sally Jacobs, Jan Kott, Benedict Nightingale and Robert Ciuainkr ...