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How They Broke Britain
- Author
- James O'Brien
- Narrator
- James O'Brien
- Publisher
- Ebury Publishing
- Publish Date
- 2 November 2023
- Run Time
- 10 hours 51 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
- Genre
- Political leaders and leadership, Corruption in politics, government and society, Political ideologies and movements, Elections and referenda / suffrage, Media studies: journalism
- Rating
- 4.6 (8 reviews)
What to expect
THE REVEALING, DEFINING ACCOUNT OF THE DARK NETWORK THAT BROKE OUR COUNTRY.
Something has gone really wrong in Britain.
Our economy has tanked, our freedoms are shrinking, and social divisions are growing. Our politicians seem most interested in their own careers, and much of the media only make things worse. We are living in a country almost unrecognisable from the one that existed a decade ago. But whose fault is it really? Who broke Britain and how did they do it?
Bold and incisive as ever, James O'Brien reveals the shady network of influence that has created a broken Britain of strikes, shortages and scandals. He maps the web connecting dark think tanks to Downing Street, the journalists complicit in selling it to the public and the media bosses pushing their own agendas. Over ten chapters, each focusing on a particular person complicit in the downfall, James O'Brien reveals how a select few have conspired - sometimes by incompetence, sometimes by design - to bring Britain to its knees.
‘Made me so angry I had to stop listening to it while driving. Superb’ THE SECRET BARRISTER
©2023 James O'Brien (P)2023 Penguin Audio
Critics Review
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How They Broke Britain made me so angry I had to stop listening to it while driving. Superb work
The Secret Barrister
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A damning account of how the country ended up in the current mess . . . O’Brien’s scathing voice provides a thorough record of the self-serving actions and pronouncements of those who have held power in Britain
Guardian
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The most important political book of the year and a fascinating must-read for anyone who cares about Britain. Eye-opening, jaw-dropping, heart-breaking
Carol Vorderman
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O'Brien is a punchy and compelling writer. The book is fluent, engaging and thoroughly researched . . . O'Brien eviscerates all of his targets
Times Literary Supplement
See more reviews See fewer reviews
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A compelling, thought-provoking and illuminating read. O’Brien doesn’t hold any punches . . . It is a book that will make you gasp in shock, shake your head in bewilderment and wonder how any of this was allowed to take place in 21st-century Britain
Herald
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[A] brilliant exposé of those who deliberately turned a once admired country into an economically poorer, lamentable parody of its former self: the Brexiteer neoliberal right, their Tory MPs, journalists and think tanks who inflicted such massive self-harm
Peter Hain
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O'Brien's new book confirms that not only are our politicians and their backers as corrupt and incompetent as you suspected they were, it's actually worse than that. And it's packed full of facts about Brexit, Think Tanks and Tory sleaze that will help you win argument after argument with your irritating relatives
Stewart Lee
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Excoriating
Jon Sopel
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It’s essential. It should make you angry. Fuming
Adam Rutherford
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Intelligent, forensic, devastating and shocking – How They broke Britain is as terrifying as it is brilliant
Peter Stefanovic
User Reviews
Book 4.6
Narration 4.6
-
5.0 5.0
Heart breaking and revelatory all at the same time. Important listening for anyone that cares
QuietNerding 2024-05-06 -
5.0 5.0
A well researched and narrated comment on the current state of uk politics and media, exactly what I would have expected from James O'Brien.
keithy 2024-01-01 -
4.0 4.0
A bit ranty, but he has a point. If you want to understand the mess we’re in, it’s worth listening to.
markjarmuz 2023-11-19
Details
- Author
- James O'Brien
- Narrator
- James O'Brien
- Duration
- 10 hours 51 minutes
- Release Date
- 2 November 2023
- ISBN
- 9780753560723
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Ebury Publishing
- Genre
- Political leaders and leadership, Corruption in politics, government and society, Political ideologies and movements, Elections and referenda / suffrage, Media studies: journalism
- Rating
- 4.6(8 reviews)
- Narration
- 4.6(8 reviews)
Synopsis
THE REVEALING, DEFINING ACCOUNT OF THE DARK NETWORK THAT BROKE OUR COUNTRY.Something has gone really wrong in Britain.Our economy has tanked, our freedoms are shrinking, and social divisions are growing. Our politicians seem most interested in their own careers, and much of the media only make things worse. We are living in a country almost unrecognisable from the one that existed a decade ago. But whose fault is it really? Who broke Britain and how did they do it?Bold and incisive as ever, James O'Brien reveals the shady network of influence that has created a broken Britain of strikes, shortages and scandals. He maps the web connecting dark think tanks to Downing Street, the journalists complicit in selling it to the public and the media bosses pushing their own agendas. Over ten chapters, each focusing on a particular person complicit in the downfall, James O'Brien reveals how a select few have conspired - sometimes by incompetence, sometimes by design - to bring Britain to its knees.‘Made me so angry I had to stop listening to it while driving. Superb’ THE SECRET BARRISTER©2023 James O'Brien (P)2023 Penguin Audio
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