The Abolition of Britain: From Winston Churchill to Princess Diana |
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The Abolition of Britain: From Winston Churchill to Princess Diana
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by Peter Hitchens
Sales Rank: 586920
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Discount: 22 %
$4.93
At Amazon
on 4-14-2008.
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Features
Cover Type: Paperback with 330 pages
Published by: Encounter Books; New Ed edition February 25, 2002
Written in: English
ISBN 10 Number: 1893554392
ISBN 13 Number: 978-1893554399
Book Dimensions:
8.8 x 5.8 x 2 inches
Weighs: 1.2 pounds
The Guardian December 1999.
When you read it you know there really is still a great ideological divide about every aspect of society.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
Christopher Hitchens
Reading this honest and indignant account, I could not repress a twinge of fraternal solidarity.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
Reader Reviews
This review is from: The Abolition of Britain: From Winston Churchill to Princess Diana (Hardcover)
An Anglophile American reading this articulate, comprehensive, chilling, manifesto is bound to have two reactions. The first will be, 'I didn't realize it was as bad as this.' The second, dawning more slowly, will be 'How long before it gets this bad *here* too?' Peter Hitchens argues that during the last decades, broadly speaking the era between Sir Winston Churchill's funeral in 1965 and Diana, Princess of Wales's in 1997, Britain was abolished. Not the land mass itself, obviously, but instead everything -- everything -- that once defined what it meant to be British. In chapter after relentless chapter, Hitchens shows the march of 'modern' PC orthodoxy through the Anglican Church, the marriage and divorce laws, the television and radio, the education system. History, the political system, the language, ancient ideas of loyalty and patriotism, virtue and service, even the very shape of the land itself ... all have within living memory been reshaped into something new, different -- and completely divorced from the past. Many people have noted these changes. Hitchens' contribution lies in showing that the changes were not coincidental, but instead were deliberate, orchestrated even, and that many of the same activists were behind the various facets of the assaults. Again and again, Hitchens produces evidence showing the arrogance and self-righteousness of the self-anointed 'reformers.' Again and again, they say, 'We recognize that the British people love the old ways, and that there is no popular clamour for change. Nevertheless, change we must.' Hitchens argues that what the 'reformers' have never been able adequately to answer is, 'Why?' And more to the point, 'Why was it necessary to destroy the old way, and make the new way mandatory?' Why, indeed? Why, for example, is Britain now jailing farmers and shopkeepers for using Imperial measurements instead of metric ones? Why is the government trying to abolish trial by jury and the right to self-defense? Sad to say, this book, while insightful and spirited, is almost unrelievedly depressing. It is literally only in the last few paragraphs of the final chapter that Hitchens offers any sort of hopeful outlook ... and even then, it is only to suggest ways to keep the future from becoming yet bleaker. What has been destroyed has been destroyed forever. Indeed, it's sad to note that in the year or so since this book came out, things in Britain have in fact gotten worse. Tony Blair has taken yet more steps toward a presidential style of government, shoving aside still further both the monarchy and the House of Commons. I'm sure Hitchens finds no joy in being a prophet, but he seems to be, unfortunately, on the right track. For anyone who loves Britain -- and especially for Americans whose idea of Britain is shaped by 'Masterpiece Theatre' and other PBS offerings -- this sad, wonderful book serves as the gravestone of an idealized vision, and a warning to our own country.
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The Abolition of Britain: From Winston Churchill to Princess Diana
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Price: $4.93
Updated on 4-14-2008.
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