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The Progressive Patriot
 
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The Progressive Patriot (Paperback)

by Billy Bragg (Author)
3.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
RRP: £8.99
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Product details

  • Paperback: 368 pages
  • Publisher: Black Swan; New edition edition (1 May 2007)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0552772429
  • ISBN-13: 978-0552772426
  • Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.8 x 2.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 44,261 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #49 in  Books > Music, Stage & Screen > Film > History of Film > United States
    #50 in  Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Social Sciences > Communication Studies > Media & Communication Industries > Television

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Product Description

Product Description
What does it mean to be English? What does it mean to be British? Is the cross of St George a proud symbol of a great tradition, or the badge of a neo-Nazi? In a world where British citizens can lay bombs to kill their countrymen, where religious fundamentalism is on the increase and where the BNP are somehow part of the democratic process, what does patriotism actually mean? Our identity can change depending on what company we are in. For example, someone could describe themselves British to one person, Scottish to another and, say, a Londoner to another, and be right every time. But problems arise when someone tries to tell you what you are, based on your skin tone, religion, accent, surname, or whatever. This book is Billy Bragg's urgent, eloquent and passionate response to the events of 7 July 2005, when four bombs tore through a busy morning in London, killing 52 innocent people and injuring many more. A firm believer in toleration and diversity, he felt himself hemmed in by fascists on one side and religious fanatics on the other. The suicide bombers were all British-born and well integrated into our multicultural society. Yet they felt no compunction in murdering and maiming their fellow citizens. Inclusivity is important, but without a sense of belonging to accompany it, what chance social cohesion...But where does a sense of belonging come from? Can it be conferred by a legal document? Is it a matter of blood and soil? Can it be taught? Is it nature or nurture? "The Progressive Patriot" is a book we all need to read. It pulls no punches in its insights and its radical vision offers a positive hope for a country teetering on the brink of catastrophe.

From the Back Cover
What does it mean to be English? What does it mean to be British? Does the rise in popularity of the St George’s flag represent a new beginning or symbolize the return of the far right? Is the Union Jack too soaked in the blood of empire to be the emblem of a modern multicultural state? In a country in which all of us are born under two flags, what does it mean to be a patriot?

In 2006, Billy Bragg saw his home town become the front line in the debate over who does and does not belong in twenty-first-century Britain – an apparent reaction to the terror attacks on London of 7 July 2005, when four British citizens from the immigrant community killed fifty-two innocent people and injured many more.

This book is an urgent, eloquent and passionate response to these events.Reflecting on his family history and revisiting the music that inspired him, Billy Bragg pits his own values against those of traditional Britishness in a search for a sense of belonging that is accessible to all and in so doing, offers positive hope to a nation no longer sure of its own identity.

‘An intriguing and timely book, which opens a new angle on the debate of what it means to be British and a patriot’ Daily Express

‘Whatever your views, there is much to be inspired by here’ Sunday Telegraph

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Customer Reviews

17 Reviews
5 star:
 (3)
4 star:
 (4)
3 star:
 (4)
2 star:
 (3)
1 star:
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Average Customer Review
3.1 out of 5 stars (17 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
25 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A Guardianista speaks, 26 May 2007
By John Johnston (London) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
The great thing about Billy Bragg's attempt to piece together a progressive narrative for how the people who call Britain their home today came to be here, is that he isn't nearly as impressed with his erudition or cognitive powers as Amazon reviewer Mr Neil Saunders.

In his review Saunders is so pre-ocupied with grandstanding and giving people ample chance to enjoy his self-important opinions on the "sociocultural" left and right, postmodernism and Mrs Thatcher's intellectual limitations that he pays scant regard to what was actually written. When he does turn to the book itself, for instance the section on the Venerable Bede and the "myth" of our Anglo-Saxon ancestry he utterly fails to grasp the point Bragg makes. It's as if his intellectual narcissism has left him too dazzled to see clearly.

That's not the only part where Mr Saunder's rabid point-scoring leaves him exposed. At no time does Bragg present a "Celticist interpretation of English history". At the broadest level his book is a "bottom-up" response to the traditional Whig interpretation of history where the inexorable march of "liberty" has been facilitated by a generous patrician elite. At the lowest level, and this is where the book is so engaging, it's a deeply personal family history, firmly rooted in Barking, that humanises the great events of British constitutional development. Bragg clearly feels that Magna Carta, the Civil War, the Glorious Revolution, the Chartists, the social changes of WW2 and the post-war settlement affect his life and shape the nature of living in Britain today. His interpretation may be optimistic and at time naive but it is honest and clearly stated in a way that is worthy of our consideration.

You'll also never read another book that slides from Joe Strummer and the Clash, to Churchill and the Blitz, to Charles I and the Petition of Right so easily. Rather than evidence of Bragg's "endemic ignorance" of his history, it's the work of someone who is passionately engaged with our island story. As a history graduate who loves punk I was in hog heaven!

Billy Bragg's book is a timely call to rexamine our history and a kick in the shins to those trendy lefties who can't stand to see the flag of St George flying from car windows. The left's refusal to discuss questions of identity and nationality has ceded the field to the likes of the BNP and the Daily Mail to determine who does and who doesn't belong here. The Progressive Patriot does not present all the answers: it merely asks it's readers to consider these question anew, all with the passion and self-deprecating wit that fans of Billy Bragg's music would expect.

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19 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Socialism and the English genius, 5 Nov 2006
Billy Bragg is not so much a national treasure as a national hero in my eyes. This semi-autobiographical work is flawed but is deeply charming (like the man himself). It's certainly no sex, drugs, rock 'n'roll and football affair (which is a shame as I'd have liked to hear Billy's take on that) but a history lesson and a polemic from the radical tradition. The self-styled Big-nosed Bard of Barking has swapped lyric writing for prose writing and as he admits in the introduction it's a totally different discipline. The Progressive Patriot is part of his ongoing attempt to reclaim English patriotism from the neo-nazis. Woody Guthrie might have said 'this guitar kils fascists' but Billy is hoping this book will kill fascists ideals on patriotism. I must confess I found the the history of Barking a tad tedious (despite knowing the area well as a long-time West Ham fan)and the Charles 1 material about the declaration of rights felt like a school history lesson (and urgently needed some of Billy's extremely dry humour), but his idolisation of Simon and Garfunkel is immensely entertaining and the book comes alive when he's writing about the rise of Rock Against Racism.

This is an absolutely essential read for any Billy Bragg fan and has moments, that like his song 'Between The Wars', are a thing of beauty and a joy forever.

Paul Wellings, author of 'I'm a journalist...get me out of here', 'Spend It Like Beckham' and 'Sex,Lines and Videotape'(Progressive Press)
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7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Nicely written, but an uneven mixture, 17 Aug 2007
By Jeremy Walton (Oxford, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I only know Billy Bragg from a few of his songs (the terrific "A New England", of course, plus his lesser-known third album "Talking To The Taxman About Poetry"), and a vague idea about his political activism. So I had a few preconceptions about what this book (lent to me by a friend) would be about - the usual musician's story, supplemented by a side order of polemic. He'd thrown me off the scent by the end of the first chapter, which is a careful - even scholarly - account of the history of Barking (his birthplace). He follows that with a discussion about the Anglo-Saxons, the story of his ancestors' involvement in the London Docks strikes of 1889 and 1911 and the history of his family. It's not until the fourth chapter that he starts telling - in a very roundabout fashion - how he got interested in music.

So this isn't your standard musician's book, although he gives a very good account of the relationships between British and American folk music in the 60's (an early influence was Paul Simon, and BB makes the fascinating suggestion that "The Boxer" was inspired by a Essex fighter named Billy Walker) and the way he got swept along with the arrival of punk in 1976. In addition, he writes very well (he memorably describes the difference between writing a song and a book, comparing taking a photograph to "painting in oils on a twelve-by-twenty foot canvas"). He's clearly put a lot of work into this book (though I think the first name of the historian he calls Charles Babington MacCaulay was really Thomas), but the overall point he's trying to make remains obscure.

First, as others have pointed out, there seems to be a confusion about nationalism, patriotism and xenophobia, which get used interchangably. More crucially, he doesn't appear to draw a distinction between Britain, Great Britain, the United Kingdom and England, which is both a standard source of bewilderment for foreigners and a touchy subject for many inhabitants of these islands, although it should be handled carefully in a book which is supposed to be about national identity.

His proposals for how to go about setting up a Declaration Of Rights seem a little naive - indeed, his argument for why such a thing is needed (which includes the contention that it would be a great way to celebrate the anniversary of the 1707 Acts Of Union) is unconvincing. But, leaving his call to action aside, this is still a good book - well written, wide-ranging and (for the most part) stimulating.
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4.0 out of 5 stars Biography, history and politics with a lot of heart
Fuelled by Billy Bragg's dismay and anger at the British National Party's success in the local elections in his beloved Barking, The Progressive Patriot looks at the area's more... Read more
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2.0 out of 5 stars Plastic Punk
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The Progressive Patriot is a brave attempt to mix politics, history and biog, in light of the BNP's recent emergence in Braggs hometown of Barking. Read more
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1.0 out of 5 stars Not looking for a new England...
It hurts to write a harshly critical review of Billy Bragg's work.

The Progressive Patriot is an awful piece of work. Read more
Published on 10 Jul 2007 by Mr. B. Jones

2.0 out of 5 stars Bring me the head of a Guardianista
I'd looked forward to this book for sometime. Whatever I expected, it wasn't this. From the turgid introduction and a first chapter full of assumptions and non sequiturs, the book... Read more
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2.0 out of 5 stars So disappointing
I'm a big BB fan and really wanted to like this but it's such a let down. Please stick to writing songs Billy. Read more
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