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50 People Who Buggered up Britain
Which fifty people made Britain the wreck she is? From ludicrous propagandist Alastair Campbell to the Luftwaffe's allies, the modernist architects, it's time to name the guilty.Quentin Letts sharpens his nib and stabs them where they deserve it, from TV gardener Alan Titchmarsh, the dumbed-down buffoon who put the 'h' in Aspidistra, to the perpetrators of the 'Credit Crunch'. Margaret Thatcher ruptured our national unity. The creators of EastEnders trashed our brand over high tea. Thus, he argues, are the people who made our country the ugly, scheming, cheating, beer-ridden bum of the Western world. Here are the fools and knaves and vulgarians who ripped down our British glories and imposed the tawdry and the trite. In a half century we have gone from end-of-Empire to descent-into-Hell.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published October 6, 2008
55 people are currently reading
124 people want to read
About the author
Quentin Letts
14 books12 followersQuentin Letts is a British journalist and theatre critic, writing for The Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday, The Oldie and New Statesman, and previously for The Times.
He was later educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College, Bellarmine College, Kentucky (now Bellarmine University), Trinity College, Dublin where he edited a number of publications, including the satirical Piranha, and studied Medieval and Renaissance Literature (1982–86) at Jesus College, Cambridge, taking a Diploma in Classical Archaeology.
Letts has written for a number of British newspapers since beginning his journalistic career in 1987. His first post was with the Peterborough gossip column in the Daily Telegraph. For a time in the mid-1990s he was New York correspondent for The Times. He is the person behind the Daily Mail's Clement Crabbe column and is also the paper's theatre critic and political sketchwriter. He lists his hobbies in Who's Who as "gossip" and "character defenestration".
His columns have been described as "attempts at faintly homophobic humour" in The Guardian, which accused him of being "busy guarding what children should and shouldn't see in the theatre". He has also been accused of misogyny over an attack on Harriet Harman.
Letts presented an edition of the BBC current affairs programme Panorama broadcast on April 20, 2009. The programme dealt with the growing criticism of the influence of health and safety on various aspects of British life.
Letts has written three books, the bestselling 50 People Who Buggered Up Britain, Bog-Standard Britain, and Letts Rip! all with his UK publisher Constable & Robinson. In Bog Standard Britain he attacks what he sees as Britain's culture of mediocrity, where political correctness has, in his words "crushed the individualism from our nation of once indignant eccentrics". 50 People Who Buggered Up Britain has sold around 45,000 copies and was reviewed in The Spectator as "an angry book, beautifully written". In a published extract, he argued that 1970s feminist writer Germaine Greer may, by asserting female sexuality, have given rise to the modern phenomenon of "ladettes" and that this encouraged men to behave badly to women, thus doing the cause of equality a disservice.
He was later educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College, Bellarmine College, Kentucky (now Bellarmine University), Trinity College, Dublin where he edited a number of publications, including the satirical Piranha, and studied Medieval and Renaissance Literature (1982–86) at Jesus College, Cambridge, taking a Diploma in Classical Archaeology.
Letts has written for a number of British newspapers since beginning his journalistic career in 1987. His first post was with the Peterborough gossip column in the Daily Telegraph. For a time in the mid-1990s he was New York correspondent for The Times. He is the person behind the Daily Mail's Clement Crabbe column and is also the paper's theatre critic and political sketchwriter. He lists his hobbies in Who's Who as "gossip" and "character defenestration".
His columns have been described as "attempts at faintly homophobic humour" in The Guardian, which accused him of being "busy guarding what children should and shouldn't see in the theatre". He has also been accused of misogyny over an attack on Harriet Harman.
Letts presented an edition of the BBC current affairs programme Panorama broadcast on April 20, 2009. The programme dealt with the growing criticism of the influence of health and safety on various aspects of British life.
Letts has written three books, the bestselling 50 People Who Buggered Up Britain, Bog-Standard Britain, and Letts Rip! all with his UK publisher Constable & Robinson. In Bog Standard Britain he attacks what he sees as Britain's culture of mediocrity, where political correctness has, in his words "crushed the individualism from our nation of once indignant eccentrics". 50 People Who Buggered Up Britain has sold around 45,000 copies and was reviewed in The Spectator as "an angry book, beautifully written". In a published extract, he argued that 1970s feminist writer Germaine Greer may, by asserting female sexuality, have given rise to the modern phenomenon of "ladettes" and that this encouraged men to behave badly to women, thus doing the cause of equality a disservice.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
April 5, 2013
This is the book for which 'vituperative' must have been standing patiently by the side of the motorway with its thumb outstretched. Letts lets rip upon various figures of british culture, or not, with his own particular brand of humour and insight. I say particular, perhaps peculiar might be better. Whilst some of these short articles are funny they are largely viciously leading nowhere in particular. Just an excuse to shoot fish in a barrel.
Any reader of these would probably find some with which they would chortle and nod, others which would raise a slight smile but just as many and probably more with which they would strongly disagree. However, I suppose that is the point of the book. I do not think Letts is serously expecting 100% concurrence but there is an unattractively vicious cruelty to many of the short essays which left a bad taste.
I am not a Daily Mail reader, although i confess to buying it each morning on the way to school when I was 17 purely because i liked Laurie Pignon who was their tennis correspondent at the time, nor am I a flag waving radical, nor am i a bigoted buffoon ( no arguments please) and so perhaps this book was not meant for me. Perhaps Letts simply wants to bolster up his most beleagured supporters and annoy the hell out of his most vociferous opponents.
I found this book mildly amusing to thumb through over the last year and a half whilst in the loo (there were breaks in that year and a half don't worry, no need to call the doctor or indeed the circus) but it was not as thought provoking or indeed interesting as i had thought it might be.
Any reader of these would probably find some with which they would chortle and nod, others which would raise a slight smile but just as many and probably more with which they would strongly disagree. However, I suppose that is the point of the book. I do not think Letts is serously expecting 100% concurrence but there is an unattractively vicious cruelty to many of the short essays which left a bad taste.
I am not a Daily Mail reader, although i confess to buying it each morning on the way to school when I was 17 purely because i liked Laurie Pignon who was their tennis correspondent at the time, nor am I a flag waving radical, nor am i a bigoted buffoon ( no arguments please) and so perhaps this book was not meant for me. Perhaps Letts simply wants to bolster up his most beleagured supporters and annoy the hell out of his most vociferous opponents.
I found this book mildly amusing to thumb through over the last year and a half whilst in the loo (there were breaks in that year and a half don't worry, no need to call the doctor or indeed the circus) but it was not as thought provoking or indeed interesting as i had thought it might be.
May 24, 2012
It probably helps if you read the Mail or Telegraph.
Inevitably with this kind of book, it helps to share the particular loathings of the author. It doesn't have to be so, of course; Jeremy Clarkson, David Mitchell and Charlie Brooker all take positions from time to time that differ from my own - especially Mr Clarkson! - but in their own diverse ways their rants can still amuse me even when I can't agree with their viewpoint. They each bring something that makes me smile, whether it's the seemingly callous hyperbole of Clarkson, the remorseless, analytical logic of Mitchell or the surreal absurdity of Brooker. Surely Letts of the famed incisive wit would bring similar amusement? Certainly his occasional appearances on TV gave me cause to believe so.
Unfortunately, I was disappointed. The genuine humour rarely shines through, buried as it is under a mound of vituperative venom. For someone who I am quite sure would sneer at the makeover industry, it's remarkable how Letts misses no opportunity to point a finger at the perceived physical shortcomings of his victims. And goodness help you if you happen to have a trace of a regional accent. Others might describe this as painting a vivid caricature; I found it just made me sympathise with many of those he turned his spotlight on, even those I myself have no love for. And it's quite an achievement to make me feel sorry for the likes of Janet Street-Porter.
But then perhaps it shouldn't be a surprise; in laying out his hatred for Topsy and Tim he explains how bullies should be allowed to teach their own victims to "discover the school of hard knocks". Yes, it's a harsh world that Letts misses. As the curtains of nostalgia part, I find I've been taken back to the Fifties when men were real men (who always voted for the Right kind of Tory), women knew their place, and all you needed for a comfortable life was a good education, the right accent, self-belief, commitment to hard work and a dollop or two of good luck. And, if possible, the right connections.
I don't walk around with a Panglossian sheen over my eyes as I look at the state of Britain today; there is much that I abhor, and a surprising number of things that I would change if I had a magic wand coincide with Letts' own pet hates. However, it's hard to read this book without concluding that Letts is the dictionary-definition reactionary who's never come across a change that isn't worth resisting.
Change even for the better, Mr Letts, rarely comes without hiccups. I, too, avoid Starbucks on the quite simple grounds that I hate the taste of its coffee but would I rather they'd never arrived in the country? Were you really so enamoured with what we had before? You might, for all I know, have been an habitué of Soho with its family-run Italian businesses where a decent espresso was available all hours of day or night, but most of us weren't. The rest of us belonged to a world where having a coffee out meant a cup of hot milk and water flavoured with a spoonful of instant-coffee granules of questionable origin and even more questionable quality. And I'm afraid that the sight of the proprietor's "low, swollen bust slowly melting the Bar Six biscuits arranged next to the push-down till" as she slowly smoked an "Embassy Number One" was never really much of a compensation to me. Thanks to Starbucks, everyone has had to raise his game; increasingly, independents are fighting back with good coffee, warm and individual atmospheres, and reasonable food; and I'd even take the chains rather than going back to the greasy spoons that you imbue with such a loving glow.
And do you really believe that forcing people to wear seatbelts was such a bad idea? And if Harold Wilson's penchant for cigars signified "a more selfish sense of purpose - a 'me me' spirit rather than the benevolent father of the nation", does the same apply to Churchill?
I could go on and on but I've already summed it up: it probably helps if you read the Mail or Telegraph.
It's a shame really because, when it comes down to it, Letts has a very readable style, quite compelling in its own way. And there's nothing wrong with disagreeing with the opinions of an author, as I said above - it's always good to step outside our comfort zones, to challenge ourselves by not simply reading those whose views reinforce our own. Indeed, that the book has been so provocative to me can only be regarded as a positive thing. In small doses, perhaps, it could be diverting.
Yet, after 277 pages, I feel somehow dirty, cheapened. I've been drenched in Letts' bile and I fear I may never quite clear the stench from my nose.
Inevitably with this kind of book, it helps to share the particular loathings of the author. It doesn't have to be so, of course; Jeremy Clarkson, David Mitchell and Charlie Brooker all take positions from time to time that differ from my own - especially Mr Clarkson! - but in their own diverse ways their rants can still amuse me even when I can't agree with their viewpoint. They each bring something that makes me smile, whether it's the seemingly callous hyperbole of Clarkson, the remorseless, analytical logic of Mitchell or the surreal absurdity of Brooker. Surely Letts of the famed incisive wit would bring similar amusement? Certainly his occasional appearances on TV gave me cause to believe so.
Unfortunately, I was disappointed. The genuine humour rarely shines through, buried as it is under a mound of vituperative venom. For someone who I am quite sure would sneer at the makeover industry, it's remarkable how Letts misses no opportunity to point a finger at the perceived physical shortcomings of his victims. And goodness help you if you happen to have a trace of a regional accent. Others might describe this as painting a vivid caricature; I found it just made me sympathise with many of those he turned his spotlight on, even those I myself have no love for. And it's quite an achievement to make me feel sorry for the likes of Janet Street-Porter.
But then perhaps it shouldn't be a surprise; in laying out his hatred for Topsy and Tim he explains how bullies should be allowed to teach their own victims to "discover the school of hard knocks". Yes, it's a harsh world that Letts misses. As the curtains of nostalgia part, I find I've been taken back to the Fifties when men were real men (who always voted for the Right kind of Tory), women knew their place, and all you needed for a comfortable life was a good education, the right accent, self-belief, commitment to hard work and a dollop or two of good luck. And, if possible, the right connections.
I don't walk around with a Panglossian sheen over my eyes as I look at the state of Britain today; there is much that I abhor, and a surprising number of things that I would change if I had a magic wand coincide with Letts' own pet hates. However, it's hard to read this book without concluding that Letts is the dictionary-definition reactionary who's never come across a change that isn't worth resisting.
Change even for the better, Mr Letts, rarely comes without hiccups. I, too, avoid Starbucks on the quite simple grounds that I hate the taste of its coffee but would I rather they'd never arrived in the country? Were you really so enamoured with what we had before? You might, for all I know, have been an habitué of Soho with its family-run Italian businesses where a decent espresso was available all hours of day or night, but most of us weren't. The rest of us belonged to a world where having a coffee out meant a cup of hot milk and water flavoured with a spoonful of instant-coffee granules of questionable origin and even more questionable quality. And I'm afraid that the sight of the proprietor's "low, swollen bust slowly melting the Bar Six biscuits arranged next to the push-down till" as she slowly smoked an "Embassy Number One" was never really much of a compensation to me. Thanks to Starbucks, everyone has had to raise his game; increasingly, independents are fighting back with good coffee, warm and individual atmospheres, and reasonable food; and I'd even take the chains rather than going back to the greasy spoons that you imbue with such a loving glow.
And do you really believe that forcing people to wear seatbelts was such a bad idea? And if Harold Wilson's penchant for cigars signified "a more selfish sense of purpose - a 'me me' spirit rather than the benevolent father of the nation", does the same apply to Churchill?
I could go on and on but I've already summed it up: it probably helps if you read the Mail or Telegraph.
It's a shame really because, when it comes down to it, Letts has a very readable style, quite compelling in its own way. And there's nothing wrong with disagreeing with the opinions of an author, as I said above - it's always good to step outside our comfort zones, to challenge ourselves by not simply reading those whose views reinforce our own. Indeed, that the book has been so provocative to me can only be regarded as a positive thing. In small doses, perhaps, it could be diverting.
Yet, after 277 pages, I feel somehow dirty, cheapened. I've been drenched in Letts' bile and I fear I may never quite clear the stench from my nose.
April 23, 2020
At the time of print in 2008, the Daily Mail parliamentary sketch writer is quite imaginative and clever with the core reasons why the listed 50 people buggered up Britain, for example Harold Wilson for creating Special Advisers; Margaret Thatcher for vengeful defeat of the miners; J Street Porter for being consumed with 'yoof' whilst denying her own age; Ed Balls, Richard Dawkins etc, for their viewpoints from privileged backgrounds of plentiful opportunity; Paul Burrell for the obvious... he also lambasts the creators of the speed camera, the happy clappy hymn, French Connection and more. If you can ignore the not-too subtle Daily Mail-esque leanings of the content it is an interesting read. 4 out of 12.
July 8, 2013
Really wish I'd read up on Letts before I paid (thankfully only 50p) for this, if I'd known he was a Daily Mail journalist I wouldn't have bothered but I was sucked in by the cover
April 30, 2020
I had such high hopes for this as I enjoy his newspaper columns but it wasn't as good as I expected it to be. It had good bits looking at useless decisions like the Dangerous Dogs Act, getting rid of the Nine O'Clock News, the shooting of poor Jean Charles de Menezes and the officer in charge of the debacle taking a bonus on his pay. I also agreed when he vented his spleen over the total hysteria at Diana's death where wailing people outside the Palace thought the Queen should be in London consoling them rather than looking after Harry and William in privacy at Balmoral. That totally disgusted me too. I agree with his thoughts on modern art, the slimy oik Paul Burrell selling his soul to make money out of Diana's death, Tony Blair's dodgy dossier and Ted Heath leading the charge that being concerned about uncontrolled immigration makes you a racist. But there were other bits of the book that were dull and were more like rants than making any real sense like his hatred of happy clappy hymns. It just wasn't a consistant read and didn't really grab me and keep me entertained.
December 3, 2012
I expected this to be a funny book which would make me laugh but it did no such thing. Just found it a very depressing and critical book with no humour at all. The drawing's were a nice touch, but otherwise I really couldn't stand it- I love politics, but this didn't teach me anything either. Maybe it's just that me and the writer have very different views.
January 21, 2024
What a tonic! I picked up this book in charity shop - sorry, Mr Letts, no royalties this time. But I see you have several other titles on offer, which I will acquire, without doubt.
Quentin Lett's acerbic and witty roasting of the likes of Tony Blair, Alistair Campbell, Gordon Brown, Rupert Murdoch, Peter Mandelson and many others, made me laugh, made me rage against the numpties who have contributed to the current state of affairs. Politicians are frightened to acknowledge they are the ones who created the mess. Slebs and intellectuals and media get their share of stick, too.
In his intro (2009 edition) he writes: 'So much money, so many technological advances, yet such an unhappy country, so drained of community, so robotic as it stagers towards oblivion. ... Who are the halfwits, the mooncalves, the clotpolls, the pickthanks whose little touches and yanks on the national tiler steered us into such a rock-strewn channel?'
I hope there will be a sequel about current buggerers-up. But this edition serves to describes them all too well.
Quentin Lett's acerbic and witty roasting of the likes of Tony Blair, Alistair Campbell, Gordon Brown, Rupert Murdoch, Peter Mandelson and many others, made me laugh, made me rage against the numpties who have contributed to the current state of affairs. Politicians are frightened to acknowledge they are the ones who created the mess. Slebs and intellectuals and media get their share of stick, too.
In his intro (2009 edition) he writes: 'So much money, so many technological advances, yet such an unhappy country, so drained of community, so robotic as it stagers towards oblivion. ... Who are the halfwits, the mooncalves, the clotpolls, the pickthanks whose little touches and yanks on the national tiler steered us into such a rock-strewn channel?'
I hope there will be a sequel about current buggerers-up. But this edition serves to describes them all too well.
August 29, 2019
An interesting, readable, and often very funny, book. (Three to four pages on each personality meant that if you didn't know/weren't bothered on occasions, there was always someone else waiting in the wings.)
Of course, Quentin Letts has his own take on the worth of everyone remarked upon in his book, and that may not coincide with yours/mine/ours. That said, he rampages across the political spectrum, from left to right, with no bias. (Several Tory and Labour politicians, from Tony Blair to Margaret Thatcher, are in his firing line and, as one who lived through many decades of the world he criticises, I found myself agreeing with much of what he said.)
Britain is regularly b******d up by politicians, business people and media types, whether they favour the left or the right. It takes a writer of Letts' intelligence, expertise and wit to remind us that no camp has a monopoly of either sense or stupidity.
Of course, Quentin Letts has his own take on the worth of everyone remarked upon in his book, and that may not coincide with yours/mine/ours. That said, he rampages across the political spectrum, from left to right, with no bias. (Several Tory and Labour politicians, from Tony Blair to Margaret Thatcher, are in his firing line and, as one who lived through many decades of the world he criticises, I found myself agreeing with much of what he said.)
Britain is regularly b******d up by politicians, business people and media types, whether they favour the left or the right. It takes a writer of Letts' intelligence, expertise and wit to remind us that no camp has a monopoly of either sense or stupidity.
July 24, 2016
Hilarious
This is one of the sharpest, funniest ebooks on why modern Britain is such a horrendous place to reside that I have ever read. Quentin Letts demolishes 50 of the most 'up-themselves' so-called 'celebrities' in today's youth obsessed, London-centric momentarily of a land called Britain and explains, in scorching, proper grammatical English precisely why and how they spoilt the land I used to be proud to call home. At a time when England (apart from the damned capital) has finally been allowed to throw off the shackles of EUdom this is a timely reminded of what Great Britain was like before these fools really did bugger up our green and pleasant land. Highly recommended.
This is one of the sharpest, funniest ebooks on why modern Britain is such a horrendous place to reside that I have ever read. Quentin Letts demolishes 50 of the most 'up-themselves' so-called 'celebrities' in today's youth obsessed, London-centric momentarily of a land called Britain and explains, in scorching, proper grammatical English precisely why and how they spoilt the land I used to be proud to call home. At a time when England (apart from the damned capital) has finally been allowed to throw off the shackles of EUdom this is a timely reminded of what Great Britain was like before these fools really did bugger up our green and pleasant land. Highly recommended.
February 11, 2011
As Critic for the 'Daily Mail,' Quentin Letts brings his observational talent to bear as parliamentary commentator for the same newspaper. He it was who coined the moniker' Gorbals Mick' for the former speaker of the House of Commons (now followed by 'Squeaker' Bercow.) No public servant, irrespective of party - especially in today's economic climate - can expect to elude Letts' sometimes hilarious but hugely incisive wit.On a dark dismal day, as you peruse your post-Christmas bank and credit card statements, pause and dip into this book. You will always find someone else to blame!
January 5, 2014
If you're British and over 50, then you'll understand what this book is all about. If not then it will probably mean little to you. Who changed Britain for the worse? According to Quentin Letts certainly the 55 (not 50) people listed in his book. Not political, as names from all sides of society are here. You may not agree with all of Mr Letts assertions but it is a forcefully written, and very readable book.
November 22, 2014
Appalling right-wing stocking-filler.
May 13, 2023
Firstly, a disclaimer - I should know better than to read anything written by a Daily Mail columnist and not expect to come away feeling a bit grubby.
Letts is a fine writer - and in some of these short, angry profiles, I genuinely laughed out loud. The Alan Titchmarsh section was one that came close to Bill Bryson levels of scathing wit, even if the mild-mannered gardener could scarcely be credibly accused of having "buggered up Britain".
Given Letts' straight, white, middle-aged, middle class profile, and his right-leaning tendencies, the targets in this book are obvious - it was written 10 years into the last Labour government, during Gordon Brown's premiership.
New Labour is represented by Ed Balls, Tony Blair, David Blunkett, Gordon Brown, Alastair Campbell, Peter Mandelson, John Prescott, and many others from their wider social and political circle.
And after a while, the fury just gets a bit samey.
Margaret Thatcher features, not for her disastrous and cold-hearted policies that destroyed lives and communities, but, bizarrely, for being too soft on the trade unions.
There are some deserving targets, including Rupert Murdoch and Richard Beeching. And Letts was ahead of the curve on Jimmy Savile, ripping into him while he was still alive, unlike the BBC and the various police forces that waited until he was dead before outing him as a serial sex offender.
Would an updated version include Cameron and Johnson? Perhaps, but that would require acknowledging the folly of Brexit.
Letts seems to pine for glory days that never existed - several of the entries express disgust at the creation of comprehensive schools, and at least two rail at the demise of 'traditional' forms of worship in the Anglican Church.
Ultimately, while this book was well written, I'm not its target audience - my politics are left of centre, I'm in favour of the EU (one of the more frequent targets of Letts' ire), and I'd like to live in an independent Scotland.
Not one I'd recommend except to the gammon-faced Daily Mail echo chamber.
Letts is a fine writer - and in some of these short, angry profiles, I genuinely laughed out loud. The Alan Titchmarsh section was one that came close to Bill Bryson levels of scathing wit, even if the mild-mannered gardener could scarcely be credibly accused of having "buggered up Britain".
Given Letts' straight, white, middle-aged, middle class profile, and his right-leaning tendencies, the targets in this book are obvious - it was written 10 years into the last Labour government, during Gordon Brown's premiership.
New Labour is represented by Ed Balls, Tony Blair, David Blunkett, Gordon Brown, Alastair Campbell, Peter Mandelson, John Prescott, and many others from their wider social and political circle.
And after a while, the fury just gets a bit samey.
Margaret Thatcher features, not for her disastrous and cold-hearted policies that destroyed lives and communities, but, bizarrely, for being too soft on the trade unions.
There are some deserving targets, including Rupert Murdoch and Richard Beeching. And Letts was ahead of the curve on Jimmy Savile, ripping into him while he was still alive, unlike the BBC and the various police forces that waited until he was dead before outing him as a serial sex offender.
Would an updated version include Cameron and Johnson? Perhaps, but that would require acknowledging the folly of Brexit.
Letts seems to pine for glory days that never existed - several of the entries express disgust at the creation of comprehensive schools, and at least two rail at the demise of 'traditional' forms of worship in the Anglican Church.
Ultimately, while this book was well written, I'm not its target audience - my politics are left of centre, I'm in favour of the EU (one of the more frequent targets of Letts' ire), and I'd like to live in an independent Scotland.
Not one I'd recommend except to the gammon-faced Daily Mail echo chamber.
September 20, 2024
I have to confess I know little about the writer only he writes for the Mail , so I came at this with now expectations what’s so ever.
I have to agree with some of the comments , some of the people you can agree with , some of them will make you smile but most of them feel almost mean spirited with no point to why they “buggered up Britain” Janet Street Porter , well he hates her for her big teeth and the fact that she created Youth programs , well you can see his point , Blair, Brown are mentioned but given light treatment , whereas JSP or Helen Willet ( I had to look her up) features for being too cheerful and upbeat.
Where is Scargill and Red Robbo , what about Harold Wilson with his long list of long term affects that we still feel today.
It’s not an awful book , it’s just at its best average and at its worst spiteful.
I’m sure you can find better books on the subject ,
I have to agree with some of the comments , some of the people you can agree with , some of them will make you smile but most of them feel almost mean spirited with no point to why they “buggered up Britain” Janet Street Porter , well he hates her for her big teeth and the fact that she created Youth programs , well you can see his point , Blair, Brown are mentioned but given light treatment , whereas JSP or Helen Willet ( I had to look her up) features for being too cheerful and upbeat.
Where is Scargill and Red Robbo , what about Harold Wilson with his long list of long term affects that we still feel today.
It’s not an awful book , it’s just at its best average and at its worst spiteful.
I’m sure you can find better books on the subject ,
March 22, 2023
My tip to anyone interested in Politics comes from Tony Benn Some friends and I sat with him on a train to Hastings. I asked him why he was reading the Daily Telegraph - his reply "I know what our side are thinking, it's my opponents heads I need to be inside" Similarly I find GBNews pure comedy gold, and for a similar reason I loved 50PWBUB And he is a good writer, amongst all the usual suspects a rightie would collar he points the finger at the BBC bigwigs who moved the 9 o'clock news to 10. He suggests that lost the nation a precious hours sleep Me? Having watched the 9oCN I used to get into bed at twenty to ten, switch on Radio Four and drift off to the soothing tones of Alexander McCloud on The Financial World Tonight Life has never been the same, has it Quentin
May 28, 2018
Very weak indeed: a faintly amusing idea stretched way too thinly, and sauced rather too richly with the author’s racism, smug Tory notions, and bizarre antipathy to change of any kind. Who does Quentin Letts have it in for? Sure Alistair Campbell is an evil little dick, Alex Ferguson is annoying and cantankerous, Diana Spencer was a tiresome clothes horse, and so on, but the person who introduced mini roundabouts? The mastermind of the Health And Safety Act? John McEnroe? Alan Titchmarsh? Ranty, petty, mean spirited, and barely even funny. Avoid.
January 13, 2024
This book read like it was written by Veruca Salt mid hissy fit, though that was probably intentional due to the title. If not, then the author really is a deluded self entitled twit.
If you can get past the wingey whiney narrative, it is quite interesting to know who was responsible for a great many decisions and policies that currently affect British politics and culture.
Originally published in 2008, I read the 2009 updated version. It would be interesting to see a follow up after nearly 20 years.
If you can get past the wingey whiney narrative, it is quite interesting to know who was responsible for a great many decisions and policies that currently affect British politics and culture.
Originally published in 2008, I read the 2009 updated version. It would be interesting to see a follow up after nearly 20 years.
December 10, 2019
Quentin Letts is always a pleasure to read.
Quentin Letts descriptive prowess is nearly always a joy to read. As a political sketch writer and theatre critic he brings his well honed skills to the fore in this entertaining book. The reason I have only given it four stars is because it could do with updating particularly in the case of Jimmy Saville.
Quentin Letts descriptive prowess is nearly always a joy to read. As a political sketch writer and theatre critic he brings his well honed skills to the fore in this entertaining book. The reason I have only given it four stars is because it could do with updating particularly in the case of Jimmy Saville.
March 4, 2021
Review (20 or more words required)
Somehow I expected to read a combination of satire and history. What I got was the distasteful, childish, personal opinions of a rich, white, sexist, racist, homophobic bigot whose main arguments seemed to be personal comments about how his targets look.
Somehow I expected to read a combination of satire and history. What I got was the distasteful, childish, personal opinions of a rich, white, sexist, racist, homophobic bigot whose main arguments seemed to be personal comments about how his targets look.
April 23, 2023
The ramblings of an unhappy and frustrated man.
To the author's credit, he casts his net across the political and public spectrum to come up with his list. However, what initially seems a humorous commentary soon descends onto one charmless rant after another. Whilst he does cover the left and the right, I found his defence of Enoch Powell's racism very distasteful.
I left the book feeling sorry for someone who come across as a very angry and unhappy individual.
To the author's credit, he casts his net across the political and public spectrum to come up with his list. However, what initially seems a humorous commentary soon descends onto one charmless rant after another. Whilst he does cover the left and the right, I found his defence of Enoch Powell's racism very distasteful.
I left the book feeling sorry for someone who come across as a very angry and unhappy individual.
May 30, 2020
Occasionally witty.
A personal airing of all the things the author finds irritating and boy does he have an irritable nature. Will appeal to all those who wish the world was still as it was ‘when they were a lad’.
A personal airing of all the things the author finds irritating and boy does he have an irritable nature. Will appeal to all those who wish the world was still as it was ‘when they were a lad’.
March 22, 2021
You have to read this book very much tongue-in-cheek, as it’s brash, rude & insulting. However, it’s an absolutely hilarious piece of writing, characterising the worst of the Brits with a no-holds-barred approach. Many will be offended, but many more will be rolling in the aisles.
January 28, 2022
Very eloquently written and Quentin certainly vents his spleen. Interesting to have some names assigned to some British maladies. Probably best read no more than 3 chapters at a time as it could become depressing.
July 15, 2022
Funny reactionary sketches
Quentin Letts pricks the pomposity and stupidly of overzealous modernisers and ideological improvers. Funny satirical and focused, this tells you more than you need to know about the perils of modern life.
Quentin Letts pricks the pomposity and stupidly of overzealous modernisers and ideological improvers. Funny satirical and focused, this tells you more than you need to know about the perils of modern life.
April 9, 2018
An angry book, brilliantly written
June 16, 2018
Rather dated and the repetitiveness of the venom starts to grate after a short while.
January 18, 2019
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVUUm...
My honest review
Book one of the #6m60books
My honest review
Book one of the #6m60books
January 24, 2020
Hilarious depiction of some of the 'influential' people that buggered Britain. One day I will write a book like this about my country.
Absolutely loved it!!
Absolutely loved it!!
May 14, 2020
Don't bother
A bigger pile of Tory apologetics would be hard to imagine. Avoid, unless you approve of Thatcher's treatment of the miners.
A bigger pile of Tory apologetics would be hard to imagine. Avoid, unless you approve of Thatcher's treatment of the miners.
November 26, 2022
I don't agree with every selection but I found the book very clever and very witty.
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