I picked this one up very cheaply in a bargain bookshop for only a few pence. Nick Martin provides a satirical guide to Britain taking wry sarcastic pot-shots at everything from MPs to family life, the established church (England), Royalty, education, MI5 and devolution en route.
To be honest, the book raises a few genuine laughs, attacks some very worthy targets - but mostly causes a kind of gentle wry amusement of the kind that leads to a raised eyebrow rather than a voluminous belly-laugh.
Most of all though this book is rather smug. Imagine Ian Hislop doing his smuggest - smuggy grin, - that's how smug this book is. Hislop himself only actually wrote the introduction which is quite entertainingly self effacing as he does his 'I'm hopelessly out of touch with the young' routine so well.
All in all, this book isn't worth the £10- rrp, but if you see it in the bargain bucket for 50p it can lightly amuse, fill a spare hour or a train journey.
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