But it is of great interest to Mr Lieven, one of the ablest historians of imperial Russia.

ECONOMIST: Russia's war against Napoleon

He is one of the ablest, most creative public servants of our time.

BBC: David Miliband 'feared being distraction' for Labour

Mr. Witkovsky's tightly argued catalog essay strengthens his reputation as one of the country's ablest younger curators (he is only 44 years old).

WSJ: Light Years: Conceptual Art and the Photograph, 1964-1977 | Snapshot of a Movement | By Richard B. Woodward

But though Mr Robinson is not, perhaps, Belfast's most popular politician, he is beyond doubt the ablest exponent of the Protestant and unionist cause.

ECONOMIST: Northern Ireland

Since his death in 1953, the throne has passed, in accordance with Islamic tradition, from the ablest or eldest of these brothers to the next.

ECONOMIST: Middle Eastern dynasties

Gen McChrystal, one of the ablest commanders America has produced during the last few decades, has fallen victim to this in-fighting as much as to his own bluntness and lack of diplomacy.

BBC: McChrystal row reflects Washington nerves

He is cheered by the warm welcome he's had in the USA and the extraordinarily warm words of former President Bill Clinton who has described him as "one of the ablest, most creative public servants of our time".

BBC: Is that it for David Miliband?