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A History of Modern Britain

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A History of Modern Britain

By: Andrew Marr
Narrated by: Andrew Marr
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About this listen

A History of Modern Britain by Andrew Marr 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 thought they knew what they were 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. It accompanies a major five-part documentary series for BBC television.

 20th Century Europe Great Britain Modern Politics & Government World War Socialism Imperialism Funny Thought-Provoking United Kingdom England Africa Middle East Capitalism Refugee Iran Winston Churchill Soviet Union Latin American Liberalism Taxation Social justice Middle Ages British Empire Russia Cold War

Critic reviews

Superb, colourful, outspoken, fresh and richly entertaining. Don’t miss.
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.
All stars
Most relevant
Being an avid history fan I found my post-war knowledge of Britain quite lacking, so I thought I'd give this one a try as I liked Andrew Marr from The Andrew Marr Show. I was not dissapointed.

With his usual elegance and creativity he manages to give a broad brush of mainly British politics, but also sidestepping himself and looking at the cultural development of the isles. And with his humour he manages to keep the book from suffocating the listener with a barrage of names and places as is often a shortfall in history tomes.

Thoroughly recommended.

Easy listening and informative

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What did you like most about A History of Modern Britain?

Very relevant to the general public

What was one of the most memorable moments of A History of Modern Britain?

Remembering what I was doing at the time of some of those key events

Have you listened to any of Andrew Marr’s other performances? How does this one compare?

First time listening to Andrew Marr, but VERY impressed!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Not particularly

Any additional comments?

A book you could listen to a few times over as there is so much to take in.
As someone growing up in the UK in the 60's, I found this a great trip back down memory lane, now understanding better some of the key events which whilst I remember, I did not really understand their impact at the time.

A trip down memory lane

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I've only really had a passing intrest in pollotics, so it's quite an achivment for this book to gave me a good grasp of major events which has shaped Britian to what it is today, and to do it in a way that was easy to follow and keep it enjoyable.
A superb book, well writen and informative. Easy to follow and listen to.
I would recommend this book to anyone that has even a passing intrest in pollotics of Britian.

a fantastic book

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Pure class worth a look as always from this author very good indeed five star

Excellent

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I did not see and therefore cannot judge the television series, but this audiobook is most enjoyable and informative. Too often professional actors do not seem to follow or to care much about what they are reading, but Andrew Marr delivers his own text with verve and enthusiasm .He has decided views on many of his topics and characters and conveys his interest to the listener. He should not give up his career in journalism to become a mimic but his imitation of their speech adds to the vividness of his portrayal of some politicians As a work of history this is very much a political rather than social history - he is clearly fascinated by politicians and is not greatly concerned with everyday lives -and many aspects of modern Britain receive scant notice, but Marr has a shrewd view of politicans and an eye for fascinating detail and telling anecdotes. The text is clearly abridged (this should be made clearer ) and possibly the audiobook exaggerates the concentration on politicians. One measure of the success of this audiobook is that it makes me and I'm sure many others keen to read the full text of the printed book .

A History of Modern British Politicians...

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