Product Description

What are the 100 things the British are most proud of and what defines Britishness? This volume nominates 100 British greats - ideas, inventions, accomplishments, monuments, artsitic and cultural movements and figures - from the beginning of British history to the present day.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #720871 in Books
• Published on: 2000-11-02
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 264 pages

Customer Reviews

Great idea -- impossibly ambitious but generally a success
The premise is a little Pseuds Corner -- pick unique aspects of British life and ask well-known writers to write a short essay about each one. The list runs a bit like Ron Manager's monologues: red phone boxes, Saturday football results, Robin Hood, the corner shop, Punk Rock, whisky, the English pub, paintings of Turner, the Beano and Dandy, novels of Dickins, village cricket, etc. etc. It makes the telling point that no other country in the world has created such a uniquely defined culture. Some essays are better than others but none appears to dumb down to the lowest common demoninator. Lovely illustrations too.

Certainly recommended though bound to provoke arguments round the coffee table.