Stick to what you know?December 5, 2008 J. R. Skelton(Devon, England) 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I liked this book, and as an overview of the post war to modern day period, it's pretty acceptable but I was surprised at how much of his comments/narrative were seemingly only evidenced by politician's own memoirs. Not greatly partisan sources!! I was also annoyed by the sheer volume of typos - Had someone shot the editor? Perhaps after this performance they should have! I also found his forays into pop music and fashion quaintly embarrassing! My final comment, though not necessarily a criticism was how much more interesting and accurate (for me) his comments and observations etc appeared to be from 79 onwards, which I assume was when he became more closely involved with events through his journalism.
Readable and interesting bookNovember 20, 2008 PhilosopherKing(London) 2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is an interesting and readable history of our country since the Second World War marred (pun intended) by a liberal/left-wing bias. Andrew Marr deals with a number of topics and this book is neither political nor social history but contains bits of each and more.
Much of the book is a re-hash of information that I had already gathered from elsewhere but some topics were new to me. For example, Andrew Marr spent some time discussing the rise of pop music and how this and the fashion industry seems to have originated mainly from people who went to art school rather than e.g. university or technical college.
The main strengths of the book are a clear writing style and the willingness to tackle slighly off beat subjects here and there so that one gained some knowledge and understanding of unfamiliar topics.
An average, anti-success summary of the UKNovember 15, 2008 MR D P SHEEN(London, UK) 2 out of 11 found this review helpful
In summay, Andrew tries to bring together a very complicated period of life in the UK and diluting it to the level of the average Guardian reader (i.e. tell me what to think and that be so, and by the way I like the working class, alright guv').
Generally well researched, but so distracted by his weird "liberal" / puritanical (anti-alcohol / fun) beliefs, that you don't know what he is trying to say. If this is the future of liberal and impartial journalism then we are destined to live with a Socialist Fascist system, and having experienced this book and this Government I think this is closer to being a reality than many think (despite the arguments of ideology!)
Excellent bookSeptember 27, 2008 A. D. St John-bee(Cambridge, England) I took this book on holiday with me and I feel a week by the pool is a perfect way to enjoy this book.
I really enjoyed the pace of this work. I felt it gave just the right amount of detail without dwelling on unimportant facts.
For me it was constantly enthralling. As a 23 year-old I certainly learnt a great deal. The detail is far greater than the BBC series that accompanied the book. My only doubt is whether had I lived through the times discussed I would have found it a little lightweight.
History at its bestSeptember 26, 2008 J. Baldwin(Birmngham, England) I found this book a real pleasure to read. It is a penetrating and scholarly account of Britain's post-war history. It is brilliantly researched and beautifully written - the author has a good eye for the amusing bon mot - yet it deals in a balanced and sensible way with the key developments and personalities of the post-war era. If a better book has been published in the past year, then I have not come across it.
