George Orwell, a man fond of a pint, used to write about his fantasy pub, The Moon Under Water, in his Evening Standard columns - 'two minutes from the bus stop where drunks and rowdies never seemed to find their way . . . where there was no music and motherly barmaids called you "dear" while pouring pints in red china mugs' . . . That was the 1940s; today our high streets have been taken over by cheapened identi-kit lounge bars (the Wetherspoon's chain has 14 Moon Under the Waters), and the pub, as a cornerstone of British life, has never been more under threat. What with smoking bans and the cost of a round being roughly equivalent to the price of a multipack from a supermarket, there are something like 57 pubs closing every week. In searching for the perfect pub Paul Moody and Robin Turner head off in pursuit of pubs that fizz with independence and a true frontier spirit, along the way raising a glass to 2000 years of British brewing history. It's partly an account of their road trip around Britain researching the Rough Pub Guide; and partly a deeper investigation into why British pub culture is the toast of the world. As featured on the Today programme and in the Guardian Time Out Book Of The Week The Independent's Top 50 Ideal Presents For Men "A rattling good yarn," Scotland on Sunday "Entertaining and illuminating," Shortlist "A wry, witty book that's a lot less 'real ale' than you might think," Sport "Part road trip, part pub guide and part lament . . . the enthusiasm for fine beers and charming independent pubs makes reading it very thirsty work," Financial Times "A pub crawl-meets-liquid social history . . . this book can only help," Reuters "A very entertaining journey with plenty of input from the kinds of characters I'd love to spend a pint or three with. And I highly recommend you buy a copy. It's the ideal book to make you think as you drink in that pub that you love on a wet afternoon in winter," Reluctant Scooper "Written with a personality and intelligence that gives the book the feel of an informed, passionate chat down the pub," The Quietus
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Review
Paul Moody and Robin Turner seem to have found the ideal literary assignment, travelling round Britain in pursuit of the ideal watering place. But they also have a serious purpose as they investigate the decline of pub culture. (Conde Nast Traveller Giles Foden )
Part road trip, part pub guide and part lament, Paul Moody and Robin Turner's book takes its lead from George Orwell's fantasy pub...the enthusiasm for fine beers and charming independent pubs makes reading it very thirsty work. (Nathan Brooker FINANCIAL TIMES 20111119)
A rattling good yarn. It is the fruit of a three-year journey measuring - surprisingly favourably - today's pubs with with a template set 65 years ago by George Orwell. (Brian Elliott Scotland on Sunday 20111127)
Taking chapters in turn, the pair travel far and wide, stopping off at some idiosyncratic and idyllic bars while delivering wholehearted celebration of the old-fashioned pub and all it represents (Euan Ferguson TIME OUT 20111129)
Entertaining and illuminating (Shortlist )
A pub crawl meets liquid social history...this book can only help. (Reuters )
A very entertaining journey with plenty of input from the kinds of characters I'd love to spend a pint or three with. And I highly recommend you buy a copy. It's the ideal book to make you think as you drink in that pub that you love on a wet afternoon in winter. (Reluctant Scooper )
Written with a personality and intelligence that gives the book the feel of an informed, passionate chat down the pub. (The Quietus )
Part elegy, part report on the state of the nation's libation. They are admirably even-handed, meeting both evil pubco mouthpieces and nice "micropub" hosts, and makes an excellent case for using and encouraging our pubs. (Steve Jelbert THE INDEPENDENTS ON SUNDAY )
As the book so persuasively argues, well-run locals are the refuge of the democratic patriot and a force for social cohesion. You'll resolve to visit at least one pub every day for the rest of your life. (Paul Du Noyer WORD MAGAZINE )
Part road trip, part pub guide and part lament, Paul Moody and Robin Turner's book takes its lead from George Orwell's fantasy pub...the enthusiasm for fine beers and charming independent pubs makes reading it very thirsty work. (Nathan Brooker FINANCIAL TIMES 20111119)
A rattling good yarn. It is the fruit of a three-year journey measuring - surprisingly favourably - today's pubs with with a template set 65 years ago by George Orwell. (Brian Elliott Scotland on Sunday 20111127)
Taking chapters in turn, the pair travel far and wide, stopping off at some idiosyncratic and idyllic bars while delivering wholehearted celebration of the old-fashioned pub and all it represents (Euan Ferguson TIME OUT 20111129)
Entertaining and illuminating (Shortlist )
A pub crawl meets liquid social history...this book can only help. (Reuters )
A very entertaining journey with plenty of input from the kinds of characters I'd love to spend a pint or three with. And I highly recommend you buy a copy. It's the ideal book to make you think as you drink in that pub that you love on a wet afternoon in winter. (Reluctant Scooper )
Written with a personality and intelligence that gives the book the feel of an informed, passionate chat down the pub. (The Quietus )
Part elegy, part report on the state of the nation's libation. They are admirably even-handed, meeting both evil pubco mouthpieces and nice "micropub" hosts, and makes an excellent case for using and encouraging our pubs. (Steve Jelbert THE INDEPENDENTS ON SUNDAY )
As the book so persuasively argues, well-run locals are the refuge of the democratic patriot and a force for social cohesion. You'll resolve to visit at least one pub every day for the rest of your life. (Paul Du Noyer WORD MAGAZINE )
Book Description
Around Britain, clocking up hundreds of beer miles in search of the perfect pub. A passionate defence of English drinking culture; an elegy for the local on your street corner.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By Henry Storch
Format:Hardcover
I bought this book after reading a piece in the Guardian documenting five celebrities favourite watering holes, not realising that the authors had also penned one of my most thumbed guide books of the last few years - the Rough Pub Guide. Although not without humour, The Search For The Perfect Pub is far less knockabout than it's predecessor. Using George Orwell's 1946 piece the Moon Under Water (published as a preface) as guidance, Moody and Turner set off on an attempt to work out what was previously one of our greatest institutions actually means to the Britain of the 21st century. As a perfect storm (the smoking ban, heavy taxation, recession, insane supermarket prices) whips through pub world, the writers journey from their local to Parliament via island outposts and inner city institutions. Along the way they talk to everyone from Wetherspoon's boss Tim Martin, beer writer supreme Pete Brown, Manic Street Preacher's James Dean Bradfield and London archivist Iain Sinclair. It's a throughly intoxicating trip that eventually leads them to the pubs that Orwell used as liquid inspiration for the original piece. The only criticism is the lack of a printed route map to help start the reader on their own quest to find pub perfection.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Knowing my penchant for the dying breed that is the 'proper' British pub and how much I'd enjoyed the authors previous 'Rough Pub Guide', I received this as a Christmas gift and originally thought it would be a similar 'dip in and out' reference book - but no -this is far more! It's at times hilarious and at times a lament on pub culture and either way, a brilliant read. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED *****
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Andrew Smith
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a fantastic book. Taking it's cue from an essay George Orwell wrote about an imaginary perfect pub called The Moon Under Water, the authors go in search of Orwell's vision, encountering endless colourful characters and unexpected facts on the way. Moody and Turner's writing is beautiful; stylish, witty, affectionate and insightful, but also sharp-eyed and probing when the situation demands.
And the situation does demand their probing, because as much as this is a celebration of perhaps Britain's best-loved institution (the French president, asked what single aspect of Anglo life he would import to France, replied 'the British pub'), it has a serious purpose, too, because it turn out that the pub is under threat from a combination of the Treasury and big business, with an average of 25 going bust each week. So 'The Search for the Perfect Pub' is joyful travelogue, social history - what better way to tell the story of the Britons - and political detective story combined, in the company two highly convivial hosts. I couldn't put it down: my partner felt that she'd read it too by the time I finished, as I spent to much time reading passages out to her, or delighting in surprising facts.
And the situation does demand their probing, because as much as this is a celebration of perhaps Britain's best-loved institution (the French president, asked what single aspect of Anglo life he would import to France, replied 'the British pub'), it has a serious purpose, too, because it turn out that the pub is under threat from a combination of the Treasury and big business, with an average of 25 going bust each week. So 'The Search for the Perfect Pub' is joyful travelogue, social history - what better way to tell the story of the Britons - and political detective story combined, in the company two highly convivial hosts. I couldn't put it down: my partner felt that she'd read it too by the time I finished, as I spent to much time reading passages out to her, or delighting in surprising facts.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
great research
read by son-in-law; he thoroughly enjoyed the research and details given.
Interesting read. Gives details of brewery ownership and best beers.
Interesting read. Gives details of brewery ownership and best beers.
Published 4 months ago by Christine O'Neill
2.0 out of 5 stars
if you like the Daily Mail, you'll like this book
The idea for the book is reasonable (a road trip round Britain searching for a perfect pub), but it never delivers. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Jack Savage
3.0 out of 5 stars
The Search for the Perfect Pub: Looking For the Moon Under Water
Fairly entertaining look at the current state of pubs in England. On a wider level, it looks at England in general and how times are changing - the break-down of community, the... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Dave Gilmour's cat
4.0 out of 5 stars
Still searching for the Moon under Water.
I thought that was a pretty well-written, even-handed, wide-ranging and informative consideration of the issues affecting (and afflicting) the great British pub today. Read more
Published 11 months ago by S. Kendon
5.0 out of 5 stars
The search for the perfect pub.looking for the moon under water
I read this book in a couple of days,meaning that I thoroughly enjoyed it.It was written by two people who really care about the institution which is the British pub. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Roger William Greaves
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good, but also a little dissapointing.
Firstly, I must say that this is a very well written book and there are some interesting interviews/chats with some of the leading lights of the pub world (Pete Brown, Tim Martin... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Simon Wallis
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