True North: In Praise of England's Better Half [Hardcover]

`He offers an affectionate trip through the region that is more thematic than geographical ... Wainwright's amiable and illuminating anecdotes are supported by a superb selection of photographs from the only national newspaper that began life outside the capital ... Born in the West Riding, he lives just outside Leeds, and while that lends True North a certain Yorkshire bias, any book that references Saint Hilda and Les Dawson in the same chapter is clearly worth a look' --Daily Mail

`True North is his love letter to `England's Better Half', a gently paced modern history taking in culture, nature and cottage industries. He doesn't ignore stereotypes so much as moderate them with wit and unlikely facts ... Northerners will revel in all the local colour, while southerners will continue to wonder what all the fuss is about' --Metro

`Calling on a mix of memoir and history, the author looks at the old North, and the new revitalised North of today. In exploring how and why the region has changed, he writes compellingly in praise of people and places. It's a fascinating read'
--Choice Magazine, Book of the Month

A unique exploration of the myths and the reality of the North of England written by the Guardian's Northern Editor

Abysmal weather, slag heaps, funny accents, the bleak uplands of a landscape carved out of millstone grit and townscape of abandoned mills and shipyards, the detritus of an industrial revolution past its sell-by date. That, anyway, is the myth, the foundation for the dismissive gibe that nothing north of Watford is worth a bag of chips.

This and other myths are swiftly dispatched in True North - an incisive and wittily observant assessment of a socially and culturally flourishing region that can boast an unrivalled setting of wild coastline, lakes and green dales, as well as inhabitants who are indomitably inventive, proud of their past and keen to forge a brilliant new future.

Abysmal weather, slag heaps, funny accents, the bleak uplands of a landscape carved out of millstone grit; townscapes of abandoned mills and shipyards; the detritus of an industrial revolution well past its sell-by date. These, all too often, are the gloomy perceptions of 'the north', the foundations for the belief that northerners spend their lives battling hardship and misery, and that nothing beyond Watford is worth a bag of chips.

With an insider's sensitivity and a journalist's enquiring mind, northerner Martin Wainwright swiftly dispels these and other myths. He reaches back through historical record to uncover where - and how - many of the old cliches arose, and goes on to paint a picture of the north as it is today and has always been: a setting of wild coastline, lakes, and green dales inhabited by indominantly inventive northerners, proud of their past and forging a future of brilliant new enterprises.

Lavishly illustrated with over 100 stunning images from the Guardian's archives, Wainwright's incisive and wittily observant assessment of a region that is flourishing socially and culturally leaves us in no doubt that true north is as vibrant and exciting as it is beautiful.

A journey through the beautiful, lively, diverse place that is the north of England. Truly the better half of the country.

Martin Wainwright is the Guardian's highly respected Northern editor. He has written and edited over ten books, including Wainwright: The Man who Loved the Lakes, A Lifetime of Mountains, the Country Diaries of A. Harry Griffin and Morris Minor, the Biography