Britain Etc.: The Way We Live and How We Got There

Summary

Mark Easton's Britain Etc. looks at the United Kingdom through its relationship to twenty-six subjects—one for each letter of the alphabet. From Alcohol, Beat Bobbies, Cheese, and Dogs through Immigration, Justice, Knives, and Murder to the Queen, Umbrellas, Vegetables, and the Zzzz of a well-deserved rest, the book's meticulously researched but accessible essays map the backstory of contemporary Britain.

With each lettered chapter, the reader is invited to look at the United Kingdom in a new way: standing back to see our small islands in a global or historical context and then diving down to scrutinize vital details that may be overlooked. Taken together, the essays reveal a Britain that cannot be seen through the prism of daily news or current affairs. A park, a wedding, a beggar, and a carrot all take on new significance once you have read Britain Etc.

This is a book that offers insight into the psyche of Britain; a nation's obsessions, prejudices, values, and idiosyncrasies. What sort of place is it? What are the natives like? And how did we get to where we are?