Product Description

Nick Cohen has been a consistently sharp and witty scourge of Tony Blair and his bandwagon babes, whether he is tearing into Labour's plans for the prison system or the government's dealings with the money traders, as shown in these writings.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #175092 in Books
• Published on: 2000-04-11
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 260 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
For some time past Nick Cohen has been, for all intents and purposes, the sole exponent of Her Majesty's loyal opposition. With a rump Conservative minority more intent on internal battles and a left wing smothered by the New Labour media machine, Cohen has been almost alone as a critic of the Blair regime. Like the little boy calling out about the Emperor's new clothes, he has been one of the most consistent and forthright opponents of New Labour.

Cruel Britannia is a collection of Cohen's writings in the Observer, London Review of Books, New Statesman and the Jewish Quarterly. Collected together and embellished by revision and more recent additions, this book comprises a serious indictment of the UK government and confirms Cohen as the strongest and most convincing voice from the left in recent years. Taken together these essays and articles cover nearly every possible area of policy and throughout the writing is incisive and the criticism thorough and thoughtful. As the Cassandra of his time, Cohen deserves to be read and re-read by all people who have an interest in the development of British and European politics. --Douglas Pretsell

Review
"If I listened to Nick Cohen I would never win an election." -- Tony Blair "A superb journalist... some of the most compelling writing to be published during the age of Blair." - Roy Hattersley, Guardian "Sharp and Punchy... A shining example of how to take on the establishment. How New Labour must hate him." - Glasgow Herald "Cohen is a spin doctor's nightmare, wittily exposing all that is callous, hypocritical and vapid in the new politics ... [he] is one journalist who will never be bought, although the Conservatives could use his skills." - Financial Times 'To read Cruel Britannia is like swallowing a useful pill to purge optimism ... Cohen is a paid-up dissensus man." - Times Literary Supplement "Nick Cohen smell out the cesspits of corruption and injustice with the keenest of noses. He tells it as it is, without fear or favour. He's one of the few independent voices left in an increasingly closed society." - Harold Pinter "Cohen is his own man, not always consistent or right or coherent, but unspinnable and unignorable, a Cassandra at the court of a king whose control freakery might yet be his undoing." - Scotland on Sunday

From the Author
These are Quotes from the UK and US reviews
Roy Hattersley, The Guardian: "A superb journalist . . . some of the most compelling writing to be published during the Age of Blair."

The Washington Times: "A hugely entertaining blend of the coruscating and the polemical . . .wonderfully witty, sharply barbed."

The Library Journal "The sort of collection that can restore a reader's faith in journalism."

John Newsinger, Monthly Review, December 1999: "A volume that provides an essential guide to what is going on in Tony Blair's Britain."

The Glasgow Herald: "Sharp and punchy . . . A shining example of how to take on the establishment. How New Labour must hate him."

Alan Taylor, Scotland on Sunday: "Cohen is his own man, not always consistent or right or coherent, but unspinnable and unignorable, a Cassandra at the court of a king whose control freakery might yet be his undoing."

Harold Pinter "Nick Cohen smells out the cesspits of corruption and injustice with the keenest of noses. He tells it as it is, without fear or favour. He's one of the few independent voices left in an increasingly closed society."

Customer Reviews

Collected essays of one of Britain's best journalists
Compulsive reading. This book is a must for anyone with a conscience. An insight into the workings of out country and the hypocrisy hidden at the heart of Blair's Britain.

Cohen is an incisive and witty writer and his prose is a pleasure to read. What's more, you will learn a lot about Cruel Brittania and many myths about the government are exploded (to use a cliché).

Discover the truth about Blair's government who admits on the book's cover quote "If I listened to Nick Cohen I would never win an election".

Even of you have been an avid reader of Cohen's jounrlaism, these collected articles (which have been updated and tweaked) demand to be re-read.

When it comes with the recommendation of one of the few writers to rival Cohen; (or more accurately ally with him) Francis Wheen then you are guaranteed good stuff. What more can I say. Buy this book.

Sparkling and informative
Nick Cohen's book is a captivating read from start to end. Although dealing with serious subjects, corruption, lies, hypocrisy and the dismantling of democracy Nick Cohen's prose sparkles so much that it is impossible to put down until you reach the end (and then you want to read it again!)

Superficially amusing
For a writer who accuses others of populism Cohen is very willing to resort to it himself. I found the book to be well written and amusing. Some of the points made are even stimulating. However the obvious political bias of the book is disappointing. You too often feel that Cohen is playing devil's advocate for the sake of it. How many stars? Well it depends what you're after. If you want a coherent, well reason and independent assessment of modern Britain then give this no stars & look elsewhere to more serious writers. If you're a Conservative or non-Blairite socialist looking for a collection of lightweigh dinner party quips then this is ideal and worthy of 5 stars.

I'll compromise & give it 3