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I do like Mark Steel and his politics, and I really enjoyed his Radio 4 show in 2010, which this book is an accompaniment to. I also heard him speak about the book recently, too. He tries to find what lies at the heart of modern Britain by visiting a place, researching it, then inviting local people to come along to a comedy night, the theme of which is the town and its environs. He endeavours to look beyond the chain stores and shopping centres, and is eager to uncover the idiosyncrasies of loc...more
I am a fan of his radio programme and of his politics. He was on Question Time quite recently and went on a fantastic rant. This book explores many of the places he has visited. The surrealist humour is the best part for me, his quirky selection of erroneous facts, the description of local laddish pursuits (football. pubs etc.), local luminaries of note are also engaging. Unfortunately, for me the chapter on Bristol is a bit disappointing. It's like the stand up comedian's jokes are funny about...more
Mark Steel gently mocks and lovingly hightlights the eccentricities and uniqueness of each 'town'/area/region he visits. He finds the best and the worst of a place and embraces them in a big long comic hug. I really enjoyed my short visit to each of these destinations and miss the radio show. I also confess to having heard some of the material in the book already in his stand up spot at Latitude Festival. It was a warm easy read and just what I needed Apres Ski.
This is the first book I read on my Kindle which means people on trains were looking at me oddly as I sniggered whilst staring at a grey piece of plastic.
Mark Steel visits towns around Britain, investigates their history, their character (good and bad), their rebellions and makes a case that behind every cloned high street of chain stores there are people and stories that make it unique.
A really enjoyable and informative read... So read it!
Mark Steel visits towns around Britain, investigates their history, their character (good and bad), their rebellions and makes a case that behind every cloned high street of chain stores there are people and stories that make it unique.
A really enjoyable and informative read... So read it!
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Pitched somewhere between Notes From A Small Island and The Idler Book of Crap Towns, this is not a match for either. The Idler is much funnier, vicious, partisan, whereas Mark Steel tries very hard to be fair all the time, or most of it, and pulls his punches. His tendency to drag in some left/anarchist politics at every opportunity is endearing but irritating. I agree with his principles but don't think he needs to express them All The Bloody Time. The writing's quite patchy and many of the jo...more
Companion to the Radio 4 series.
If you havent listened to that then this will pass a few hours perfectly , but it is not more impressive than similar titles, find it on Radio 4 player or probably radio 4 extra
If you havent listened to that then this will pass a few hours perfectly , but it is not more impressive than similar titles, find it on Radio 4 player or probably radio 4 extra
A tie in to the radio 4 series where Steel trawls round to different towns in the UK and discovers lots of amusing facts and anecdotes about the place. very funny in parts.
The radio show from which this book stems was rightly lauded, but something is lost when transferred to the page, and it can feel like a bit of a repetitive slog to read from cover to cover. Steel will always have a principled chip on his shoulder, but it is hard to stomach some of his declarations – for example, a claimed preference for Didcot over Oxford seemed to be going a little too far. Didcot?!
Superb...with a chapter on my adopted hometown. Reccommended.
Loved his live show about his travels and think he's a very funny and clever man. The book was an enjoyable read but not as funny as I thought it would have been when compared to his live show.
Enjoyable, informative, laugh out loud funny and a little bit silly.
May 10, 2013
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Apr 10, 2013
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Mar 02, 2013
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Feb 23, 2013
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marked it as to-read
Feb 08, 2013
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Mark Steel (born 4 July 1960) is a British socialist columnist, author and comedian. He was a member of the Socialist Workers Party from his late teens until 2007.
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