If Only They Didn't Speak English cover art

If Only They Didn't Speak English

Notes From Trump's America

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About this listen

As the BBC's North America Editor, Jon Sopel has had a pretty busy time of it lately. In the 18 months it's taken for a reality star to go from laughingstock to leader of the free world, Jon has travelled the length and breadth of the United States, experiencing it from a perspective that most of us could only dream of: he has flown aboard Air Force One, interviewed President Obama and has even been described as 'a beauty' by none other than Donald Trump.

Through music, film, literature, TV and even through the food we eat and the clothes that we wear we all have a highly developed sense of what America is and through our shared, tangled history we claim a special relationship. But America today feels about as alien a country as you could imagine. It is fearful, angry and impatient for change. Reflecting on his journey across the continent to cover the most turbulent race in recent history, Jon Sopel lifts a lid on the seething resentments, profound anxieties and sheer rage that found its embodiment in a brash, unpredictable and seemingly unstoppable figure.

In this fascinating, insightful portrait of American life and politics, Jon sets out to answer our questions about a country that once stood for the grandest of dreams but which is now mired in a storm of political extremism, racial division and increasingly perverse beliefs.

©2017 Jon Sopel (P)2017 BBC Worldwide Ltd
Anthropology Elections & Political Process Political Science Politics & Government United States World Thought-Provoking Funny Socialism
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This book came up as a daily deal, but after listening to it I would have used a credit or paid the full price for it. Jon Sopel goes into the history of American Culture including religion, patriotism and the constitution to draw a neat picture of the reasons the US differs from the UK although we often think of ourselves as being similar because we speak the same Language. He pulls in aspects of those subjects to explain how Trump was elected and draws parallels to brexit. The fantasy of the special relationship is fascinating and the book picks out parts of its history which are relevant today in determining how we in the UK often misinterpret the reality. The humour and dry wit left me laughing out loud on a number of occasions especially when the subject of conspiracy theories came up, and of course recounting the words of Kelly Ann Conway.

Enlightening, insightful and funny

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Downloaded this as a daily deal and so glad I gave it a go.
Interestingly presented, easily packaged information and facts
You get a sense of what Jon feels about people and events as the book goes on but he carefully tries to give a balanced view. Not always easy.
If you watch/listen/read and wonder about events across the Atlantic and Britain’s relationship with its old colony, then this is the book for you.

Very interesting and easy to listen to

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Thoroughly thought provoking, head scratching and diagnostic about the American past, present and influence. Well worth a listen. Like a 9-hour long From Our Own Correspondent. The chapter on guns was particularly worth listening to - and weeping over.

A 9-Hour ‘From Our Own Correspondent’

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Fantastic book and a broader coverage of topics than I had expected. interesting, informative and well narrated by the author.

A must listen

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Absolutely brilliant. Essential listening for all Jon Sopel groupies. So good to have him reading it too at such a clip.

Brilliant

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