Product Description

"A History of Modern Britain" confronts head-on the victory of shopping over politics. It tells the story of how the great political visions of New Jerusalem or a second Elizabethan Age, rival idealisms, came to be defeated by a culture of consumerism, celebrity and self-gratification. In each decade, political leaders think they know what they are doing, but find themselves confounded. Every time, the British people turn out to be stroppier and harder to herd than predicted. Throughout, Britain is a country on the edge - first of invasion, then of bankruptcy, then on the vulnerable front line of the Cold War and later in the forefront of the great opening up of capital and migration now reshaping the world.This history follows all the political and economic stories, but deals too with comedy, cars, the war against homosexuals, Sixties anarchists, oil-men and punks, Margaret Thatcher's wonderful good luck, political lies and the true heroes of British theatre. 'Superb, colourful, outspoken, fresh and richly entertaining. Don't miss' - "The Times". 'Lively, full of rich anecdotes and sparkling pen portraits. He has the rare gift of being able to explain complex issues in a few crisp sentences' - "Sunday Telegraph".

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #50 in Books
• Published on: 2008-05-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 629 pages

Bookseller
'Marr is a genial, entertaining and informative author with absolute mastery of his subject.'

Bookbag
'Marr is a kindly writer and sees positive qualities in all the politicians he writes about...'

Independent
'A must-have addition to any respectable bookshelf.'

Customer Reviews

A future school textbook - and useful now.
This book was updated for its paperback release and having read it carefully I suspect that many of the errors referred to by other reviewers were removed at that point. Having lived out of Britain for a sizeable chunk of my adult life, I found that I had much to learn from the pages - several large gaps in my knowledge were filled in.

I found it difficult to detect any signs of bias, and Andrew Marr's easy writing style made it a pleasure to read. This is almost as far removed from the dry history textbook that I wrestled with as a young student as it is possible to be. For anyone wanting a crash course on British modern history, this could not be bettered. Well researched and referenced, this deserves to become a standard.

I learnt all I should have at school
If I hadn't been taught some trendy (in the 1970's) History O Level course I may have learned some modern history and have subsequently been on catch up since!

This is the most readable book I have read covering the post war period and having seen the TV programme the writers voice is audible. It's a must read for a holiday (preferably with understanding people who don't want to talk very much as being interrupted reading won't go down too well)

A Superficial History of Modern Britain.
Andrew Marr's book is, if not a totally one-way glass facade, then certainly a pretty smeared window upon society that is clearly influenced by the naive, PC stupidity of those many refer to as the 'chattering classes'. Shallow and childlike. The professional intelligentsia, and their private armchair and public media imitators, will surely love it.