'Marr is a genial, entertaining and informative author with absolute mastery of his subject.'

'Marr is a kindly writer and sees positive qualities in all the politicians he writes about...'

'A must-have addition to any respectable bookshelf.'

'...tempered with touches of humour and the odd James Bond reference, making it far more than a historical tome.'

'This is a fantastic read that manages to be both authoritative and accessible'

'Well informed, entertaining and dryly amusing'

"A History of Modern Britain" 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 think they know what they are 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. 'Superb, colourful, outspoken, fresh and richly entertaining. Don't miss' - "The Times". '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' - "Sunday Telegraph".

"A History of Modern Britain" 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 think they know what they are 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. 'Superb, colourful, outspoken, fresh and richly entertaining. Don't miss' - "The Times". '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' - "Sunday Telegraph".

Andrew Marr was born in Glasgow. He has enjoyed a long career in political journalism, including five years as the BBC's Political Editor (2000-05). Andrew's broadcasting includes BBC2's History of Modern Britain series, political documentaries for Channel 4 and BBC Panorama, and Radio 4's 'Start The Week'.

2008-08-29 A future school textbook - and useful now.

This book was updated for its paperback release and having read it carefully I suspect that many of the errors referred to by other reviewers were removed at that point. Having lived out of Britain for a sizeable chunk of my adult life, I found that I had much to learn from the pages - several large gaps in my knowledge were filled in.

I found it difficult to detect any signs of bias, and Andrew Marr's easy writing style made it a pleasure to read. This is almost as far removed from the dry history textbook that I wrestled with as a young student as it is possible to be. For anyone wanting a crash course on British modern history, this could not be bettered. Well researched and referenced, this deserves to become a standard.