If you take any notice of Tom Bowyer he will tell you that Gordon Brown doesn’t understand the English working class. You may be forgiven for agreeing with his biographer, but barnstorming speeches the week after Duffy-gate suggest Tom has got it wrong, no matter what the result of the 2010 election.
It is an English report of the English, with an insider’s knowledge of the subject. All too often British people are can turn whingeing about the state of the nation into a national pastime. Thankfully this book ends on a positive note; England is a tremendously post-modern place and a good thing too.
This is a breezy report without being too heavy on detail, although it is clearly well researched. The English have much to learn about themselves, and this book gives a taster. For instance did you know England has produced more celebrated artists of the written word, than the painted variety? Paxo does, and explains why.
It probably wouldn’t have helped Gordon Brown avoid Duffy-gate. We are all human after all, and the British media does love a scandal. This book gets 3/5
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