Milo MInderbinder Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 (edited) 'As funny as Bryson and as wise as Orwell' reads the quote from The Observer that adorns the front cover of this book. I think SM is in a class of his own and deserves the comparison to the former of the two great writers mentioned in the Observer quote. With this, Maconies fourth (and for me his finest) book, he has given us ten chapters/essays regarding a pivotal event in each of the decades of the last century and how the ripples of those events have shaped Britain as a nation. The title of the book could lead you to believe that this is just a flag waving exercise. Not so. Maconie celebrates but also denigrates in equal measure the institutions and history of Britain through the 21st century. Fascinating insightful accounts about and including The Battle of the Somme, the impact of the invention of television, The General Strike of 1926, Live Aid, The New Labour Landside victory of 1997, and too-many-more-to-mention interesting aspects of the nations history including feasts-for-thought chapters, especially an inspiring and positive chapter about ethnicity in Britain. In each chapter Maconie goes in search of the locations where these events have happened and in each one you get history, social commentary, and travel writing at its best. Including many references to Maconies own personal passions of pop music, food and drink (mainly single malts and curries), and of his love of the British countryside. I have read all of Maconies books (Cider with Roadies, Pies and Prejudice, and Adventures on the High Teas - in search of Middle England) and I have thoroughly enjoyed all of them. All very funny and all very interesting. With HAG he has set the bar even higher. I can't think of a better way to sum this book up than another reviewers quote from the back cover of the book: 'Intensely readable'. Edited January 7, 2012 by Milo MInderbinder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 Glad to hear you enjoyed this so much Milo. I've also read all of the other books by Maconie, and I think he's probably the best social history writer on Britain today. I'm keen to read this, but I like his books as holiday reads, so I'll probably wait until the summer before I get to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 I've been meaning to try Maconie for years - and this review has made me more determined. Although I'm not supposed to be buying any more books this year, I think I will have to get one. I had an Amazon voucher for Christmas so this might be something good to spend it on. Thanks for the review. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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