Hyperbolic titles generally put me off, especially when it is not clear to what the hyperbole aspires. In this case, one can work out from the introduction that the authors meant to put together a wide catalog of roses they "love or have found memorable or striking for one reason or another". The result might be a comprehensive selection of roses they like, but do not expect a comprehensive guide to roses.
The strengths of this book are its simple overview of rose history and parentage, its multitude of color photos, and concise but informative historical and horticultural notes about each rose. For these reasons alone, the book earns a place on the shelves of rose aficionados.
The Phillips and Rix approach, familiar to readers from their vast number of titles, is what it is: many listings, mostly accurate statements, and a layout that emphasizes quantity rather than quality of photos. Such an approach offers lots of data, but it wants interpreting. This is where I hesitate to recommend this book as a starting place for absolute beginners, who would probably do better with the narrower focus of Philip Harkness in "Reliable Roses". The photos, too, remind one of a rose's appearance, but other references are far better at showing a rose's visual attributes of color, form, and habit.
One of the charms of roses is that a single plant may carry several different monikers. Not here: Phillips and Rix have elected to display only the current name accepted by the rose canon, which I think is a pity. There is no cross-reference, as is included in many rose books, and this will stop some from finding information about a rose they know by another name.
Perhaps if I were to labor at length over the text, I might be able to infer why some roses made the cut and others did not. That Abbaye de Cluny was left out of the little section on Romanticas, for example, stuns me. Likewise, Cupcake (deemed by John Clements to be "one of the most beautiful of all pink miniatures") is shunned. The lovely single, Golden Wings, is ignored. Why? "Too many beautiful roses" might be the answer -- but these are beauties: tough and hardly overplanted. Nevertheless, this pretty book will keep its place, for now, on my shelf as a guide to the roses Phillips and Rix like best.
As you'll notice from the listing, this is a heavy tome: four pounds. I am already becoming mildly concerned about the durability of the sewn binding. Even with careful use and storage, the pages seem to be loosening somewhat.