The Great British Dream Factory

To put it simply, no country on earth, relative to its size, has contributed more to the modern imagination. There is, however, one area in which we can claim superpower status: our popular culture.

Britain has been in gradual decline since 1945. With the Empire gone along with our manufacturing base, we have compensated by engaging the energy and ingenuity that made the Victorians great to the creative arts. This is a book about the considerable success and the possible meaning of Britain's modern popular culture. From Bond and the Beatles to heavy metal and Coronation Street. From the Angry Young Men to Harry Potter, from Damien Hirst to The X Factor. We've exported them lucratively around the world.

Sandbrook has a knack of restating hardly original ideas in a way that strikes you as if you'd never heard them before. Heartily recommended.