Description
It often seems that there is little to
celebrate about British life today, when
the news is so full of economic gloom,
but Hunter Davies and Frank
Herrmann, when they set off to
examine some of the things which make
Britain great, found that the choice was
enormous. In the end they limited
their list to nineteen – nineteen
uplifting events and organisations,
people and places, pageants and
performances, which we can all enjoy
and be proud of as we step hesitantly,
even fearfully, through the Eighties.
Their catchment area was the whole
of Great Britain, covering all the
regions, from Ulster to the South of
England, from Wales to the North of
Scotland, capturing in words and
photographs their personal views.
Unlike most books about Great Britain,
they crossed all boundaries, moving
from Landscape to Buildings, from
Music to Education, from the Church
to Politics, from Royalty to great
Sporting Occasions.
It might seem strange at first sight to
go from the Marks and Spencer
departmental store in Leeds, observing
the hard facts about merchandising, to
the Last Night of the Proms, trying to
describe an almost abstract event, an
evening of pure emotion, but the
connection seemed obvious. Two Great
British Institutions.
The other chosen places include
Sissinghurst, Sotheby’s, Wembley,
Durham Cathedral, Edinburgh’s Royal
Mile, the Queen Mother’s Scottish
Castles, Rainhill Railway Trials,
Blackpool, Eton College, the Welsh MP
for Bedwellty, the Giant’s Causeway,
Hardy’s Wessex, the Thames at
Cookharn, the Derby, the Royal
Shakespeare Company, the Stock
Exchange.
The result of their celebratory
journey round Britain is a unique book
of our times, wise as well as witty,
informative as well as colourful, in
which they pass on their enthusiasm
and delight for some of the greatest
pleasures of Great Britain. It is a book
which in turn will give pleasure, and
pride, to many others throughout the
world.
HUNTER DA VIES is the author of
sixteen books which have ranged from
biographies (the Beatles, George
Stephenson, William Wordsworth, the
Grades) to walking books about the
Lake District and Hadrian’s Wall. He
also contributes to the Sunday Times
and writes a column in Punch.
FRANK HERRMANN has travelled
widely as a photographer with the
Sunday Times on assignments as varied
as the British Transarctic Expedition,
US Elections, the Yam Kippur war and
Zimbabwe’s move to Independence. He
has taken the photographs for two·
other Hunter Davies books, The
Creighion Report and The Glory Game.
Whilst working on Great Britain he was
one of a hundred international
photographers who were invited to
Australia to participate in the book A
Day in the Life of Australia.
ISBN 0-24i -10755-5
Hardcover
In very good to excellent preloved condition with the exception of slight yellowing on inside dust cover description of book and authors. Also a previous owner’s book stamp applied inside front cover in two places. Otherwise in very good to excellent condition. A special edition for the libraries of those celebrating Great Britian!
288 pages