Product Description

"Crap Towns" is a humerous guide to the 50 worst towns in Britain. From inner city poverty to self-satisfied middle England, from the dull and the lifeless to the ugly and the depressing, no concrete monstrosity or phoney heritage centre will be left untouched. This title will prove that Britain isn't just the place of warm beer, cosy bed and breakfasts and amiable old gits that some travel books would have us believe. With burnt out cars, shell suits, cheap shoe shops and housing estates patrolled by rabid dogs and feral kids, Britain can be every bit as challenging a destination as the places gap year students and "serious" travellers' usually go for their poverty and misery kick. "Crap Towns" started life on the website of "The Idler" magazine when readers were asked to write short pieces on awful places they knew and despised. The idea captured imaginations throughout the internet community, receiving countless word-of-mouth recommendations from websites, chat rooms and weblogs. It is now a regular feature of "The Idler" and consists of statistics, anecdotes, history and other bits of info sent in by readers.The book selects the top 50 crap towns in Britain and reveals them in

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #82097 in Books
• Published on: 2003-10-03
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 154 pages

Review
'I wish I could think of just one thing I could tell you about Hull, oh yes...it's very nice and flat for cycling.' Philip Larkin

Customer Reviews

funny timely outpouring of discontent
In the rush to release Christmas cash-in books (known in the trade as non-books), this compendium of contemporary crud is actually assembled with integrity and professionalism. Tidily designed (except for some washed-out photography), the writing here makes Paul Theroux look like a pussycat - searing vitriol from the bunch of over-educated ne'er-do-wells who make up the audience from a magazine like The Idler.
It would be wrong to think these denunciations of Britain spring from the pen of some metropolitan bohemian fop: the contributions are from the current or ex-citizenry of the various tawdry towns.
Although it only takes a couple of hours to read, it is extremely funny. The survey is by no means definitive, yet it still serves as a biopsy of contemporary discontent.

Funny the first time round
This book was hilarious the first time around. However, it seems it has offended some people who are obviously proud of the towns in which they reside.

To be honest this is no work of a genious, it is based on opinion and it takes about 5 minutes to flick through. But you have to admit that the people that wrote this book do have a point about the grotty places they wrote about. Some of them you wouldn't send your worst enemy to, I know because I've been to most of them!

The only thing that offended me about it was that it didn't include my home town which I would've have thought would score quite highly!

If you are easily offended and patriotic about your home town perhaps it isn't the book for you.

At last!
At last, a definitive list of the 50 crappiest towns in Britain. How many more should be on record! Succinct, topical and very easy to read. The writers have bravely put into words what the voiceless majority feel about the lousy places they are unfortunate enough to be stuck in. Well worth the modest price and, please, do a follow up!! An excellent Christmas present.