Ten Days That Changed the Nation

by Stephen Pollard

A brilliantly provocative history and analysis of Britain since World War II, identifying ten days that have influenced ten key aspects of our society

243 pages, Paperback

First published August 3, 2009

About the author

Stephen Pollard is a British author and journalist. He is the editor of The Jewish Chronicle.

Reviews

[Stuart Hill · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had a really interesting concept - to describe events from ten days from the 20th century that had a lasting impact on Great Britain today and explain how they were significant. It started off well with the opening chapter on the first immigrants to arrive from Jamaica after World War 2. This section was both engaging and balanced.

However, after this the quality of the book declined as it became increasingly clear that the author was not particularly interested in explaining the events, but was happy to use them as a springboard to engage on a diatribe against his favourite targets - the Left, liberals and the 'chattering classes'. The tone is similar to that found in the Daily Mail, suggesting that there was a golden age in the past which we just need to return to.

Pollard makes some extremely contentious statements including that the end of grammar schools was a disaster for state education and links this event with a decline in social mobility, yet provides no hard evidence that these phenomena are linked. In the same chapter he also discussed at length how 'progressive' teaching methods were a disaster yet does not show in any way whether these were introduced solely because of the end of the grammar schools. Pollard favours the Gradgrindian hard facts approach to learning and ridicules alternative theories, despite the fact that any academic would agree that a University education is intended to furnish students with skills of analysis and interpretation, not merely to fill their heads with knowledge.

Elsewhere Delia Smith comes under fire for having the audacity to write a cookbook designed to save time spent in the kitchen. The author does not seem to have considered that this would be useful to those who have little free time due to their having to spend long hours working in poorly paid professions.

I imagine that choosing the 10 dates would be difficult as there are so many alternatives which could have been used instead but I was nonetheless surprised by some of the choices made. Apparently, the defining moment for the monarchy in recent history was their participation in an It's a Knockout TV programme as it took away their dignity. I would have thought that the death of Princess Diana and the Queen's reaction (or lack of) was far more significant as it is probably the closest that the country has ever been to becoming a republic.

The weakest chapter of all was that on Germaine Greer. Her feminist beliefs were linked to the decline of the family, yet there is no proof of causation offered here at all. There must be many factors which have affected the strength of the family institution such as religious beliefs, divorce laws, and other social and economic factors. I find it hard to believe that a book which few people have actually read had more impact than anything else.

The book had its moments but would be of greater appeal to those whose politics are somewhere to the right of Genghis Khan. Overall it felt like a wasted opportunity and I think a professional historian could make a much better job of the subject than this amateurish effort.

[Gobi Tharmarajah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Its a book about ten days which the author thinks were crucially changed the nation. It may be agreeable to some extend, though I am pretty sure some other will have another ten days.

Liked the way it was written. Good read.

[Carolina Morales · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and resourceful.