“The basic imperatives of the review—analysis and evaluation—are being abandoned in favor of a nodding routine of recommendation,” lamented the critic, Christian Lorentzen. As reviews have devolved into book reports, one publication, to which Lorentzen contributes, has remained committed to analysis and evaluation, a stalwart of both intellectual rigor and wit—The London Review of Books. To commence a series of events in celebration of the Review’s 40th birthday, editor Mary-Kay Wilmers, publisher Nicholas Spice, and editor-at-large Andrew O’ Hagan (a contributor to Air Mail, which shares its columnist James Wolcott with the LRB) join for a discussion. —C.J.F.