The Spectator has published a glowing review of The Oxford Companion to Cheese: "The wonderful new Oxford Companion covers ever aspect of cheese — in sex, war, the Bible, Shakespeare, diplomacy, superstition and magical thinking."
I love everything about Hawtree's thoroughly British review, except this: in the entry I wrote on the Congress of Vienna, I certainly did not claim the Congress was resolved by a cheese competition! Talleyrand’s proposal for each nation to submit their best cheese to a vote (Brie de Meaux won) was a diversion from the interminable negotiations.
I do agree with his suggestion that the next edition should add the Life of Brian "Blessed are the Cheesemakers" sketch to the existing entry on Monty Python, which covers the "Cheese Shop" sketch.