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How They Broke Britain

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How They Broke Britain

By: James O'Brien
Narrated by: James O'Brien
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Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

‘Made me so angry I had to stop listening to it while driving. Superb’ THE SECRET BARRISTER

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.

©2023 James O'Brien (P)2023 Penguin Audio

 Corruption & Misconduct Elections & Political Process Europe Politics & Government World
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Critic Reviews

How They Broke Britain made me so angry I had to stop listening to it while driving. Superb work (The Secret Barrister)
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 (Tim Jonze)
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)
O'Brien is a punchy and compelling writer. The book is fluent, engaging and thoroughly researched . . . O'Brien eviscerates all of his targets
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
[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)
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)
Excoriating (Jon Sopel)
It’s essential. It should make you angry. Fuming
Intelligent, forensic, devastating and shocking – How They broke Britain is as terrifying as it is brilliant (Peter Stefanovic)
All stars
Most relevant
This brilliant polemic/recounting is vital to anyone’s understanding of how the fish gallop of Murdoch’s operatives has undermined civilization, as it was once perceived.
The language, delivery & poignancy is to be admired & I’m certain to listen to it again.

We’ve suffered Rupert’s calumny for too long & this book details it, via UK politics-as-tragedy, so very well.
Unbelievably good.

A must-listen for anyone in the UK, the USA or Aust.

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I really enjoyed the voice choices used for some of the characters in this book.

Performance

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Start to finish, James packs every chapter full of the good stuff. The amount if research and attention to detail is mind blowing. The story itself is the stuff of nightmares. My only criticism is the audio quality which was slightly distorted which distracted slightly from the book.

Absolutely Captivating Read

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Really enjoyable, despite it being about the mess the Tories made of Britain. There are quotes included by various politicians, and if I didn’t know them to be true, they would seem like something you’d expect to see on Spitting Image. Really well researched, well written, and well read, highly recommended to all.

Excellent

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Example after example after example outlining how these ten people have destroyed a country, O’Brian is articulate and self aware. It’s objective, even if the majority of those outlined are from The Right, a few more from the other side may have been interesting but when The Right has had power for so long, maybe it’s inevitable they make for the lineup of the charged.

Articulate, cited and self aware

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