winner of THE ORWELL PRIZE

‘Brilliant...some of it will make you sad, some of it will make you furious, but you are guaranteed to be left feeling that you understand this country much better.’

John Lanchester

‘Meek couldn’t produce a dull sentence however hard he tried...an unputdownable book that will leave you with a lasting sense of unease.’

John Gray, The Guardian

‘If you have a taste for historical irony and absurdity, you’ll love this book.’

Frances Wheen, Mail on Sunday

‘James Meek’s superb book exposes the perversities, hypocrisies and failures of privatisation...he crafts beautiful and vivid passages that turn what could be a dry subject into a highly readable study.’

Owen Jones, New Statesman