Ross wins award; No one shocked

Proving that Alex Ross is wonderful in every single regard, he won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism.

He then went on to singlehandedly cure most forms of cancer, teach tough inner city kids to trust and to love again by setting down rules and giving them self-confidence in his music appreciation class at a rough high school, and led the slobs of Camp Sioux Valley to a resounding victory over the snobs at Camp Greenbriar Hills in a no-holds-barred game of football.

He has been greeted at most events with, "Santo subito!" and "John Paul Who?"

All levity aside, having read The Rest Is Noise, I can say that it is a fantastic book and Alex Ross is probably, though I don't have much doubt, the preeminent music critic of the times. "Il miglior fabbro" and all that.

He's really good.