A History of Modern Britain

I did not see and therefore cannot judge the television series, but this audiobook is most enjoyable and informative. Too often professional actors do not seem to follow or to care much about what they are reading, but Andrew Marr delivers his own text with verve and enthusiasm .He has decided views on many of his topics and characters and conveys his interest to the listener. He should not give up his career in journalism to become a mimic but his imitation of their speech adds to the vividness of his portrayal of some politicians As a work of history this is very much a political rather than social history - he is clearly fascinated by politicians and is not greatly concerned with everyday lives -and many aspects of modern Britain receive scant notice, but Marr has a shrewd view of politicans and an eye for fascinating detail and telling anecdotes. The text is clearly abridged (this should be made clearer ) and possibly the audiobook exaggerates the concentration on politicians. One measure of the success of this audiobook is that it makes me and I'm sure many others keen to read the full text of the printed book .

I completely missed the TV series when it was on, but heard great things about it so was really excited to see this on Audible. Andrew Marr's narration is brilliantly entertaining, even down to his impressions of the figures in his historical account. Seriously this guy does an amazing Tony Benn, Winston Churchill and Blair. There is simply so much essential information as to the history of Britain that I want to listen over and over again. Not just dull history, but the scandalous, intriguing back stories they wouldn't dare tell you at college. It's my first ever history download from Audible... I'm keen to find more of the same!

On the surface the subject matter may seem dry and boring and I'm sure in the wrong hands it definately could be.
However, Andrew Marr lends this book his own indomitable flair and passion. His unbiased narrative is both informative and interesting. The whole book reads like an epic screenplay across the century.
Andrew Marr really is a natural and I highly recommend his book.
If you are in two minds about this book I urge you to give it a go - you won't be disappointed!

Getting this for my Birthday, I was dreading that it was just a rehash & a promotion of the series on TV.
Indeed, it has many similarities, but there is enough fresh in here to make full use of the different medium.

As something of a history & politics buff, I found his assessment of most of our post-war leaders to be fair & frank & that he is not as pessimistic as some historians have been about this period (e.g. 'The Very Bloody History of Britain: 1945-Now'). Considering his ending moral as well (that all political careers end in failure) the book has a freshness & authenticity coupled with a sense of idealism (rather than cynicism) that often pervades political writings.

One criticism that I'm not sure many listeners will be aware of though is that Marr appears to have quite a fondness for Thatcher. This comes over especially in his pronouncement that only 'only the 1945-51 Labour Administration & Thatcher's first two terms really dealt successfully with Britain's problems'. I note that he omits Blair's first term.
Minor quibble though this is, I am a Thatcherite & am aware that not everyone thinks her policies were good - in fact most are divided on the subject altogether.

That being said, one criticism I don't uphold is that this is purely 'political history' - it may concentrate on that as his specialty, but there are also many elements of social, cultural & even comedic history which keep the narrative interesting.

And, best of all, Andrew Marr passes the test of being both a good narrator AND a good author (which is so rarely achieved in this format). And for that, I would say that this book (in any format) is a worthwhile purchase & is easy to absorb, while not compromising on facts.

I did not see and therefore cannot judge the television series, but this audiobook is most enjoyable and informative. Too often professional actors do not seem to follow or to care much about what they are reading, but Andrew Marr delivers his own text with verve and enthusiasm .He has decided views on many of his topics and characters and conveys his interest to the listener. He should not give up his career in journalism to become a mimic but his imitation of their speech adds to the vividness of his portrayal of some politicians As a work of history this is very much a political rather than social history - he is clearly fascinated by politicians and is not greatly concerned with everyday lives -and many aspects of modern Britain receive scant notice, but Marr has a shrewd view of politicans and an eye for fascinating detail and telling anecdotes. The text is clearly abridged (this should be made clearer ) and possibly the audiobook exaggerates the concentration on politicians. One measure of the success of this audiobook is that it makes me and I'm sure many others keen to read the full text of the printed book .

Andrew Marr tells the History of Britain in a fresh way that makes boring British History interesting, even at times humourous. Trivia and unforgetable facts like Italian welsh rarebit being the former name of Pizza, makes for interesting conversation at dinners .

I downloaded this book after watching the excellent TV series 'Andrew Marr's History of the World' and was not disappointed. I would definitely recommend it for anyone who enjoyed the TV show. The narration is great - keeps you interested. I feel like i've learnt a lot about politics in Britain since the war - a very interesting listen.

Being an avid history fan I found my post-war knowledge of Britain quite lacking, so I thought I'd give this one a try as I liked Andrew Marr from The Andrew Marr Show. I was not dissapointed.

With his usual elegance and creativity he manages to give a broad brush of mainly British politics, but also sidestepping himself and looking at the cultural development of the isles. And with his humour he manages to keep the book from suffocating the listener with a barrage of names and places as is often a shortfall in history tomes.

Thoroughly recommended.

Subtley different from the book but still excellent. Very well delivered and packed with fascinating insights. The Suez Crisis section is particularly enlightening.

If you want to understand the standard middle class metropolitan view of British history written by an Alastair Campbell who managed to stay awake during his time at Cambridge University this is it, and very good too. It is well-delivered standard view of the second half of the twentieth century seen through this reformed communist's lens that never deviates from the standard script: the NHS - not a theft from local communities already serving the people and transforming it into a burocracy with increasingly little to do with healthcare, an smug assault on the First and Second World War survivors found "embarrassing" when Marr was growing up, and the world reduced to a hippyish 1968 Weltanschauung - the USA (bad) v the rest (the unexplained alternative we never took, Britain hideously white and Thatcher not believing in society rather than Thatcher believing in individuals. Despite the barely suppressed desire for a secular Orwellian tolerant British collectivism, this history repays a listen and gives a lucid portrait of why Britain is how it is now: a mixture of turbo-statism hitched to turbo-capitalism, the latter funding the former and dring the morals an elitist statist Kleptocracy