Book description
Celebratory, witty and incredibly insightful, Harry Bingham explores
the eccentricities and customs of the British nation in a bid to answer
a question which has everyone debating - Who are we?
For the British, 'Who are we?' is an oddly difficult question. Although
our national self-assessment usually notes a number of good points
(we're inventive, tolerant and at least we're not French), it lists a
torrent of bad ones too. Our society is fragmented and degenerate. Our
kids are thugs, our workers ill-educated, our public services abysmal.
We drink too much. Our house prices are crazy, our politicians sleazy,
our roads jammed, our football team rubbish. When 'The Times' invited
readers to suggest new designs for the backs of British coins, one
reader wrote in saying, 'How about a couple of yobs dancing on a car
bonnet or a trio of legless ladettes in the gutter?'
Is there really nothing to be proud of? British inventors have been
responsible for myriad marvels we now take for granted, from the steam
engine to the world wide web. British medical and public health
innovations - vaccination, integrated mains sewerage, antiseptic surgery
- have saved far more lives than all other medical innovations put
together. And why stop there? The British empire covered a quarter of
the earth's surface but used an army smaller than that of Switzerland to
exert its rule. The world speaks our language. Our scientists have won
vast numbers of Nobel Prizes. The evolution of 'habeas corpus', trial by
jury and the abolition of torture aren't purely British in inspiration,
but owe more to us than to anyone else. Our parliamentary democracy has
been hugely influential in spreading ideals of liberty and
representative government round the world.
If the modern world is richer, freer, more peaceful, more democratic
and healthier than it was, then Britain has played a leading role in
that transformation. This book is about just that. Taking a particular
interest in the many things that we did first, or best, or most, or were
the only ones ever to do, this book focuses especially on those of our
oddities that spread across the world - everything from football to the
rule of law. 'As Bingham shows so intelligently and so well, we have a
lot to be proud of.' Mail on Sunday
'A great read.' Publishing News
'Packed with odd, fascinating information.' Metro
'An easy and enjoyable read.' Oxford Times
'[A] readable romp through our history.' The Lady
'Fascinating…the author conveys a huge amount of history and fact with
the lightest of touches to make a most readable and enjoyable book.'
Church Review Harry Bingham is an ex-City trader who has worked for
major British, American and Japanese firms but who now writes full time.
He lives near Oxford with his wife and their three dogs.
