Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
1,231 global ratings
5 star
58%
4 star
27%
3 star
12%
2 star
2%
1 star
1%
How customer reviews and ratings work

Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings, help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyses reviews to verify trustworthiness.

Learn more how customers reviews work on Amazon

Review this product

View Image Gallery
Customer image
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars
Images in this review

Reviews with images

See all photos
Previous page
  1. Customer Image
Next page
All Photos
Brow Raising…..
Amazon Customer
1 Star
Brow Raising…..
An illuminating “Tube” map for those wishing to navigate the political elite of the UK’s Ruling Class, but without the need to venture far outside the Circle and Metropolitan lines.A “Brexit for Beginners ”.If you want to get a grip of class politics in the UK, or anywhere else for that matter, try The Communist Manifesto: it takes a bit more effort but if you are at all interested in changing the world rather than scoffing at it, it’ll be time better spent.
MoreHide
Brow Raising…..
Thank you for your feedback
Sorry, there was an error
Sorry, we couldn't load the review

Read reviews that mention

boris johnson oxford union ruling class oxford university public school eton and oxford simon kuper debating society get away johnson and gove well written current government read this book university students easy read current political political elite oxford and cambridge brexit tory
  • Top reviews

Top reviews from United Kingdom

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

BendyBar
5.0 out of 5 stars Convincing. Things have changed, but not enough.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 22 February 2023
Verified Purchase
Still, a ruling class which looks after it's own interests and is self-perpetuating runs the UK largely for its own purposes. This book targets a group who are mostly part of a well-know, right-leaning clique as a result of where they were educated. Many are in the Tory party, but it points at a wider societal problem.

Either way, we end up with a detached caste driven by myths of King Arthur and England's green and pleasant land (which is for their own use, primarily) mis-ruling the country. Solutions aren't offered, but the evidence presented suggests: as long as the rich can pay for their kids to get on to a privileged bandwagon, the cycle of class separation and differentiated opportunity will only continue.

This book is not particularly for socialists. It provides evidence for anyone what needs to change for people, wherever they come from, to get to the top. Where we all need them.

Interesting, well researched, entertainingly written.
Read more
Tim Dumble
VINE VOICE
4.0 out of 5 stars The wrong type of PPE
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 29 November 2023
Verified Purchase
This potent little book is the best explanation of Brexit and the chaotic management of the Covid 19 pandemic I have read.It is also an insightful look at the Establishment.

The author depicts a frightening parallel universe of Britain’s elite universities and schools in which a privileged few play at politics in preparation for a career in the House of Commons.In this world what matters is not personal belief facts or truth but the development of the linguistic and polemical skills necessary to argue for any point or perspective.

This lack of focus on facts and moral belief, a view that politics and governance is merely a game without consideration for real world consequences had devastating consequences for the public during the Covid pandemic.
The elite Conservative cabinet and prime minister, as was recognised in the recent enquiry, possessed the wrong skill set to cope with Covid.They possessed too much of the wrong type of PPE- an education in Philosophy, Politics and Economics- and distinct lack of scientific understanding.This led to flawed decision making an ultimately deaths.

Brexit is convincingly portrayed as a project adopted by the entitled elite as a means of reasserting their dominance and freedom to rule without the socially motivated interference of Europe. Brexit is viewed as the Establishment attempting to recreate the golden era of empire, Evelyn Waugh, Tolkien and CS Lewis.

Thankfully this book and the revelations of the Covid 2019 inquiry have exposed the unsuitability of the elite to govern unfettered.The author details some encouraging changes to Oxford University which should prevent any future coups by an out of touch, entitled elite.
Read more
dmcred
5.0 out of 5 stars Great read.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 31 August 2023
Verified Purchase
Brilliant read. An engaging, albeit worrying exposé of the political world.
Read more
Dr. Gary S. Shea
5.0 out of 5 stars Relevant to recent headlines
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 23 June 2023
Verified Purchase
What is interesting about this book is how it was once possible to graduate from Oxford with what was actually a very low quality degree and yet abundantly and undeservedly benefit from it because of the social network it gave a student access to and the apprenticeship in the performative arts offered by membership in the Oxford Union. Hey presto....Boris johnson.
Read more
E. Clarke
3.0 out of 5 stars Starts to get dull about halfway
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 30 May 2023
Verified Purchase
I adore Simon Kuper’s articles but found this a little dull and repetitive after a while. Interesting bits though
Read more
Phil Chippendale
4.0 out of 5 stars Northern Chemist’s Review
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 September 2023
Verified Purchase
I told my Oxford interviewer I didn’t like Oxford, and wasn’t keen on Chemistry, then I arrived two hours late for my entrance exam. My school headmaster locked me in the examination room, and I was offered a place. The consequences were not so funny.
Hertford College awarded an open scholarship to the other student, who was the son of an Oxford University chemistry professor. The scholarship was more than just an Oxford status game. Hertford College allocated its limited student accommodation preferentially to scholarship award holders. I gave up a place at Manchester University to take the one at Oxford. If I’d had the accommodation difficulties I found in Oxford, I could have commuted from my parents’ home in Warrington.
After my Finals, my tutor wrote:
<< Realistically this means that your most probable result must be a third although there is just a chance that a good Part II would pull you up. It is a real pity that things conspired to cause you to do much less well than you should have – with your ability you should have been at the other end of the school – but there it is and we must accept the situation.
Although I hope you will come back to Oxford I feel I should point out that is is possible for you to finish now with an unclassified honours degree, which might be as good a bet for your career as a ‘third’ in a year’s time – perhaps you could let me know sometime whether you feel you would like to come back. >>
I returned to Oxford, but I found it an unsupportive environment. My emotional state deteriorated, and I left after one term, without completing “Part II”.
If I could go back in time and advise my young adult self, I would have behaved differently. First of all I’d thank myself for surviving. I did self-harm, which I regret. I’d tell myself to redirect my attention, forget about working for “Part II”, and do the minimum to collect my “third”. The unclassified degree proved not to be as good a bet as a “third”, and I’d save myself from worse humiliations in the future.
I was at Oxford with two future prime ministers. Blair was in the year above, and May in the year below. Neither achieved three A-level grade “A”s like me. Both had accommodation provided by their respective colleges at Oxford. The State subsidises colleges, and the colleges subsidise the accommodation they provide. Therefore my parents paid taxes to buy benefits given to wealthy and well connected people, but denied to me.
My father’s education ended at age 14, my mother’s in occupied Greece at age 12. They were from impoverished single parent families from opposite corners of Europe, brought together by the War. They would have loved to see me achieve something worthwhile.
My achievement I think was to be a subject of amusement for the Bullingdon types who followed me at Oxford, proving their superiority (although I had better A-level grades than they did).
For the most part I had a miserable time at Oxford, and underachieved badly. If Oxford had been a “graduates only” university, as suggested by Kuper, I would have been saved much pain.
Read more
See more reviews

Top reviews from other countries

Colin J. Edwards
5.0 out of 5 stars Kuper's ability to separate the Chums as individuals sets this book apart.
Reviewed in the United States on 9 June 2023
Verified Purchase
Chums is an in-depth exploration of how a small group of individuals from privileged backgrounds came to dominate British politics, economy, and society. Kuper uses the term "Chums" to refer to this select group of people who attended the same elite schools and universities, belonged to the same exclusive clubs, and moved in the same aristocratic circles.

The book offers a compelling account of the networks and alliances that enabled these individuals to acquire and wield power over the course of several decades. Kuper traces the origins of the Chumocracy to the Thatcher era and its aftermath, examining the ways in which key figures from within this group gained positions of influence across a range of sectors, from finance and media to politics and civil service.

What sets this book apart from other works on the subject is Kuper's ability to bring the Chums to life as individuals with backgrounds, personalities, and motivations. By weaving together biographical sketches of some of the most prominent members of this group, he helps us to understand not only how they rose to power, but also why they were drawn to it.

At times, the book can feel overwhelming with its sheer number of characters and details. However, Kuper's clear and engaging prose keeps the reader engaged throughout. Moreover, his analysis is refreshingly balanced and nuanced, acknowledging both the strengths and weaknesses of the Chumocracy and providing insight into the broader social and economic forces that have shaped modern Britain.

Overall, Chums is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the contours of power in contemporary British society. While it offers a sobering portrayal of elite privilege and its effects on society, it also provides a glimmer of hope that change is possible if we are willing to challenge the status quo.
Read more
Tony Woodruff
5.0 out of 5 stars A damning book on why Britain has sunk so low
Reviewed in Canada on 15 April 2023
Verified Purchase
I was a grammar school boy who got a scholarship to Oxford in the 1970s, and was also a passive member of the Oxford Union, so this book rings some memory bells. My college was more academic minded than most, so I didn't suffer from the Bullingdon crowd's stupidity.
I found the first half of the book a bit disappointing - mostly racy tales, out of school, about bad boys. Towards the end however, it really delivered powerful insights.
I have always thought that the way Oxford sets up undergraduate studies is wasteful - I recently attended a "Gaudy" (reunion) and most of my contemporaries agreed that very little that they learned academically was useful in later life. The tutorial system is very expensive and largely useless. Most 18 year olds have no idea what they want to do with life and they need a first year studying a wide range of subjects. Changing courses at Oxford is very hard.
I wholeheartedly agree with Kyper's conclusion that Oxford and Cambridge should abandon undergraduate teaching. This would deal a heavy blow to the awful British class system which is a cancer on the UK's potential. I have lived in Canada for 30 years and I can testify that the lack of a class system leads to great social mobility with consequent positive benefits for economic growth, social cohesion, and settling new immigrants. Britain needs several social revolutions. People like the Smogg and Boris have no business running anything bigger than a sweet shop.
Read more
Julitay
5.0 out of 5 stars That this system needs a real change
Reviewed in Germany on 20 July 2022
Verified Purchase
Of course we all knew this really, but did not realise just how bad it is. Which school did you attend, do I detect a dialect, we all know this. But that those men have so much control and so much arrogance, so little knowledge, so little interest, the self-importance and stupidity, that rather surprised me. This book is a must-have for all interested in the dreadful trajectory in which Great Britian is finding itself.
Read more
ross cranston
5.0 out of 5 stars An important and timely book
Reviewed in Spain on 9 May 2022
Verified Purchase
Similar to his weekly FT column, Kuper’s book is relevant, incisive, and beautifully written.
Read more
Kiwi viewer
5.0 out of 5 stars very informative
Reviewed in Australia on 28 May 2022
Verified Purchase
I found the book very informative. It’s not just damning about the British elite. Some of its lessons apply more widely. Post-truth glibness seems to affect politics elsewhere at least in anglophone countries. Glibness with minimal competence seems to lead to advancement in other fields too.
Read more
See more reviews