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If Only They Didn't Speak English

Notes From Trump's America

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If Only They Didn't Speak English

By: Jon Sopel
Narrated by: Jon Sopel
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Summary

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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Really enjoyed this book, Jon Sopel gives a brilliant and simple look at the differences between ourselves in the UK (or should I say us here in Europe) and the good ol' US of A! Whilst I say simple, I don't mean in a 'Janet and John' way, the book is full of interesting facts (none of which appear to be alternative facts either) and statistics that make it easy to see how really quite different our cultures are. If you've been fortunate enough to have spent anytime in the US, somethings that Jon talks about will be instantly recognisable.
Jon's narrative is excellent and it's like listening to a much extended news cast (and I mean that in the best possible way). It's clear, concise with the odd turn of humour that makes it not only very easy to listen to, but also very easy to digest and understand.
I personally think the US is a fantastic country, and still do, but this book made me realise that we here in the UK have much more in our common with our cousins on the continent, than we do with our cousins on the other side of the pond.
Highly recommended

Brilliant insight into the differences between ourselves and our American cousins

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Insightful, interesting, at times saddening (the chapters about guns and anxiety highlights for this) and utterly depressing (the seemingly endless obsession the UK has about the ‘Special Relationship’)

I ripped through this in 2 days. It’s just impossible to stop if you don’t have to.

Highly recommended if you have any interest in the politics of our ‘Special’ revolutionary cousins. What thing is absolutely clear is that this country which we feel so close to is actually a very, VERY, different place...

Just excellent

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A really interesting collection of essays from a good reporter who has been at the centre of things. The style of delivery was a little "full on" but a brilliant and perceptive analysis of modern American.

supberb commentary on the last 18 months in USA

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Stuff I knew but sopel tells it in a very clever way. He gives you the understanding of it. Clever man.

Just fab! Staggeringly informative.

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As a Yank in the U.K. for many years, this was a fascinating and informative listen about the current state of US politics. It’s certainly not the country I left decades ago. It put great perspective too on U.K. politics and the ‘special’ or not-so relationship.
Great listen!

Enlightening and Entertaining

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