How Britain Really Works, Stig Abell
How Britain Really Works, Stig Abell
List: $24.99 | Sale: $17.50
Club: $12.49

How Britain Really Works
Understanding the Ideas and Institutions of a Nation

Author: Stig Abell

Narrator: Stig Abell

Unabridged: 10 hr 47 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: John Murray

Published: 05/03/2018

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included

Synopsis

'Absorbing . . . an intelligent and clear-eyed account of much that goes on in our country' Sunday Times

'Wry and readable' Guardian

Getting to grips with Great Britain is harder than ever. We are a nation that chose Brexit, rejects immigration but is dependent on it, is getting older but less healthy, is more demanding of public services but less willing to pay for them, is tired of intervention abroad but wants to remain a global authority. We have an over-stretched, free health service (an idea from the 1940s that may not survive the 2020s), overcrowded prisons, a military without an evident purpose, an education system the envy of none of the Western world.

How did we get here and where are we going?

How Britain Really Works is a guide to Britain and its institutions (the economy, the military, schools, hospitals, the media, and more), which explains just how we got to wherever it is we are. It will not tell you what opinions to have, but will give you the information to help you reach your own. By the end, you will know how Britain works - or doesn't.

'Stig Abell is an urbane, and often jaunty guide to modern Britain, in the mould of Bill Bryson' Irish Times

About Stig Abell

Stig Abell is the breakfast presenter on Times Radio, a station he helped to launch, and a columnist for the Sunday Times. Before that he was the editor and publisher of the Times Literary Supplement, a presenter on Radio 4's Front Row, and had a weekly radio programme on LBC. His first book, How Britain Really Works, was published in 2018.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Paul on June 19, 2018

Philip Pullman gives this book a really stunningly ridiculous blurb on the front cover: full of interesting glimpses of the way Britain works But if your whole book is about how Britain works – nay, how it really works – shouldn’t we readers be hoping for more than glimpses? When I go to the zoo I wan......more

Goodreads review by Lucy on May 16, 2018

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. A refreshingly down-to-earth exploration of the mechanisms that keep the country functioning...and how some are failing us badly. Okay, I'll admit it, I was prepared for this book to be all about Brexit. After all, that's the big politic......more

Goodreads review by Miriam on September 13, 2018

"How Britain Really Works" written by Stig Abell is a very interesting, intelligent and informative book for those interested in the analysis of understanding the ideas and institutions on how this country works. Guiding us on Britain and its institutions including education, the military, law and o......more

Goodreads review by Tariq on October 28, 2018

As an expat who has lived in the UK for the past 18 years of my life, I did find the definitions refreshingly fresh and frank. I think the frank bits were a result of the author’s experiences working in LBC. And in a typical british way he does not at all present any improvement suggestions but rath......more

Goodreads review by Sam on May 27, 2024

This book is worthless.......more

Quotes

Absorbing . . . an intelligent and clear-eyed account of much that goes on in our country Sunday Times

Wry and readable . . . a smart execution of an idea that is more important than it sounds - in a world convulsed by polarising ideologies and white-hot feelings, there is a lot to be said for writing that is cool and fact-based Guardian

Delightfully readable Daily Mirror

Stig Abell is an urbane, and often jaunty guide to modern Britain, in the mould of Bill Bryson . . . he provides thoughtful explorations of each subject throughout Irish Times

Vivid, funny, and full of interesting glimpses of the way Britain works, viewed from angles I hadn't seen before Philip Pullman

If you fear Britain's going slightly Brexit bonkers, then this will explain why. An excellent, incisive and witty analysis of how this country works, or as so often . . . doesn't! Piers Morgan

A fascinating piece of ultra recent history. How we got to where we are, and why. Confused about modern Britain? Read this book Dan Snow

An engaging, entertaining and sometimes eyebrow-raising read Jack Monroe

This book brilliantly unpicks our strange little island, and shows us where we find ourselves in the modern world Dermot O'Leary

Simply, I have never read a better book about Britain. This is a proper and touching examination of the mad little island that I'm so fond of. Everyone should read it, whether they think they already know about our country, or not Xand Van Tulleken

Add to Cart
Add to Wish List