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How Britain Really Works

Understanding the Ideas and Institutions of a Nation

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How Britain Really Works

By: Stig Abell
Narrated by: Stig Abell
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About this listen

Getting to grips with Great Britain is harder than ever. We are a nation that chose Brexit, rejects immigration but is dependent on it, is getting older but less healthy, is more demanding of public services but less willing to pay for them, is tired of intervention abroad but wants to remain a global authority. We have an over-stretched, free health service (an idea from the 1940s that may not survive the 2020s), overcrowded prisons, a military without an evident purpose, an education system the envy of none of the Western world.

How did we get here and where are we going?

How Britain Really Works is a guide to Britain and its institutions (the economy, the military, schools, hospitals, the media, and more), which explains just how we got to wherever it is we are. It will not tell you what opinions to have, but will give you the information to help you reach your own. By the end, you will know how Britain works - or doesn't.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio on our Desktop Site.

©2018 Stig Abell (P)2018 John Murray Press Europe Great Britain England Inspiring Thought-Provoking Socialism Capitalism

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Critic reviews

"Absorbing...an intelligent and clear-eyed account of much that goes on in our country." (Sunday Times)

"Wry and readable." (Guardian)

"Stig Abell is an urbane, and often jaunty guide to modern Britain, in the mould of Bill Bryson." (Irish Times)

All stars
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really great book, very well researched, very interesting and engaging. overall a great read or listen. I really like the fact it was split into chapters that made sense. health, education, economics, etc

truly informative and interesting

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There's a lot of info to get your head around here. Very well written and educational.

Blackopolypse

Well read and very informative.

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Infortmative, engaging, humane. Great account of the muddle that is Britain and why muddle is what you will get in the future and why this is probably for the best.

informative, engaging, humane

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Well written and engaging. A broadly objective history and analysis of the UK. Perhaps wrongly, I expected new insights....I didn't get any. 4/5

Engaging but not insightful

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I really enjoyed this book. It's full of interesting and insightful stuff told in a straightforward way. However, the production values are dreadful.
Stig has read the book himself which is fine, but the producer has left in stumbles over words and mistakes, lip smacks, times when Stig ran out of breath mid-sentence etc. Baffling why they wouldn't make the effort on a book that is fairly well known.

Still, I listened to it all regardless, and took a lot from it.

Very interesting but terrible production values

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Fantastic book. I was initially dubious, but quickly you realised this is an unbiased, unpoliticised viewpoint. It shocked me, enlightened me, enraged me and made me proud to be British, all in equal measure.
A must read.

An absolute must read or listen

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Nothing to dislike. Hope Stig updates it soon. Such good history on how we got to this and where the power lies.

Gives so much background as to how Britain really works

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Good content and delivery. would recommend this title to anyone as a crash course in British institutions.

Good.

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Enjoyed this book. Each chapter you are given a potted history of the subject being covered and then an insight into how
the area i.e Education runs today. Stig Abell is the narrator. Has given me food for thought.

Good Listening

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This book is makes some good observations on Britain at the time of writing (2018) . Each section contains a brief history of how the various institutions that shape Britain got to where they are. The view is white cosmopolitan and London centric. It’s personal in its choices of institutions and somewhat rambling in exposition. I was struck at the omission of the Royal Family as it still controls this country and its institutions. I also struggled with the narration which I found was best listened at 0.9 speed.

Personal view of Britain.

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