Join Amazon Prime and get unlimited Free One-Day Delivery. Already a member? Sign in.

 

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
   
More Buying Choices
40 used & new from £0.75
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Welcome to Everytown
 
 
Share your own customer images
Search inside this book

Welcome to Everytown [Illustrated] (Hardcover)

by Julian Baggini (Author)
3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
RRP: £14.99
Price: £10.49 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £4.50 (30%)
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Only 5 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).

Want guaranteed delivery by Wednesday, July 8? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details
24 new from £0.76 14 used from £0.75 2 collectible from £13.99
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Paperback £8.99 £6.99 47 used & new from £0.01

Frequently Bought Together

Customers buy this book with The Pig That Wants to be Eaten: And Ninety-nine Other Thought Experiments by Julian Baggini

Welcome to Everytown + The Pig That Wants to be Eaten: And Ninety-nine Other Thought Experiments
Price For Both: £17.23

Show availability and shipping details

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

The Pig That Wants to be Eaten: And Ninety-nine Other Thought Experiments

The Pig That Wants to be Eaten: And Ninety-nine Other Thought Experiments

by Julian Baggini
4.1 out of 5 stars (16)  £6.74
The Duck That Won the Lottery: and 99 Other Bad Arguments

The Duck That Won the Lottery: and 99 Other Bad Arguments

by Julian Baggini
4.3 out of 5 stars (3)  £9.09
Pies and Prejudice: In Search of the North

Pies and Prejudice: In Search of the North

by Stuart Maconie
3.8 out of 5 stars (72)  £5.59
Waiting for the Etonians: Reports from the Sickbed of Liberal England

Waiting for the Etonians: Reports from the Sickbed of Liberal England

by Nick Cohen
3.7 out of 5 stars (7)  £9.09
Estates: An Intimate History

Estates: An Intimate History

by Lynsey Hanley
3.9 out of 5 stars (13)  £5.99
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Hardcover: 274 pages
  • Publisher: Granta Books; illustrated edition edition (5 Mar 2007)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1862079218
  • ISBN-13: 978-1862079212
  • Product Dimensions: 21.8 x 13.8 x 2.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 182,260 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Product Description

Review
'Baggini's thought experiments provide an enjoyable work- out for the mind' London Review of Books 'Examines received opinions, things we take for granted, and dissects them entertainingly' The Times 'Baggini offers us a tempting smorgasbord of some of the most baffling, weird and occasionally downright creepy scenarios ever envisaged... enjoy these mind-boggling tales from the outer limit of thought' Guardian

Psychologies Magazine
"Fascinating localised detail of the lives of ordinary British
people... sophisticated, open-minded analysis"


See all Product Description
Inside This Book (Learn More)
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Search inside this book:

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

 (What's this?)
Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
Check a corresponding box or enter your own tags in the field below
(7)
(3)
(3)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Welcome to Everytown
76% buy the item featured on this page:
Welcome to Everytown 3.4 out of 5 stars (7)
£10.49
The Duck That Won the Lottery: and 99 Other Bad Arguments
8% buy
The Duck That Won the Lottery: and 99 Other Bad Arguments 4.3 out of 5 stars (3)
£9.09
The Pig That Wants to be Eaten: And Ninety-nine Other Thought Experiments
7% buy
The Pig That Wants to be Eaten: And Ninety-nine Other Thought Experiments 4.1 out of 5 stars (16)
£6.74
Do You Think What You Think You Think?
5% buy
Do You Think What You Think You Think? 5.0 out of 5 stars (1)
£5.99
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

7 Reviews
5 star:
 (2)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:
 (3)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.4 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars A Guide to the English Mind....but for whom ?, 2 Dec 2007
By G. G. Durante (Gibraltar) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I was looking forward to this book which put itself forward as a study of the philosophy of life of the typical Englishman, his fears, his aspirations and his ethical beliefs; all of this garnered from a 6-month stay in England's most average postcode. Unfortunately, amusing as it is in parts, it never really lives up to its set ambition. What is worse, there are parts that read just like an exploration of the mythical North/South divide.

Some problems are evident from the beginning. Baggini focuses on an aspect of English life and then, with the admittedly dubious aid of opinion polls, the tabloid press and conversations with locals in the boozer, constructs a set of extremely general truths about English society and the practices of the common man. What are often presented as original insights into the English mind are, I'm afraid, platitudes which apply to almost any modern nation in the Western world. For example, with much fanfare and preparation, we are told that we are obsessed by status, tolerant but wary of other cultures and prefer familiarity and convenience to that which is alien or challenging. There is nothing distinctly English about this.

One reason why the results of Baggini's investigations are disappointing may lie within the author himself. He comes across as extremely ingenuous, a sort of Hugh Grant of the writing world, jumping into everyday pursuits with a sort of trepidation which can only come from living a very withdrawn life. He is shocked by cinema food / snack prices and openly admits he has never betted before. In certain cases, an outsider's view can lend a degree of objectivity to a cultural history but Baggini's lack of participation in the English way of life previous to his trip up North ultimately acts as an obstacle to revealing its key characteristics.

At one point in the book, there is a jab at two other writers, Paxman and Scruton, who are chided for having ignored the average man and concentrated on literary figures and historic events to define the English. One gets the distinct feeling that Baggini might have been more comfortable with this approach.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting reading, 2 Jun 2008
By David Barton (London) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Welcome to Everytown: A Journey into the English Mind (Paperback)
The main difference between this book and other examinations of the English mindset such as Kate Fox's "Watching The English" is that Baggini is a philosopher and so relates his observations to various philosophical views in ethics, politics, etc. This is far from a difficulr read however, as Baggini has an easy readable style. The other difference is that Baggini actually took time out to spend 6 months with his subjects which is just as well since it is clear that the lifestyles and attitudes of the average English person are very different from those of the sort of liberal middle-class urbanite who reads (and writes) a book like this.

The conclusions are not that surprising and but backed up with various statistics and polls as well as Baggini's own observations. Overall it is an even-handed, intelligent and interesting read concluding that despite beliefs to the contrary the average English person does have a consistent philosophy just one that is different from that of the average liberal set.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
18 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Tells you what you already know, but does it well, 19 Mar 2007
By N. Chivers - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Highly educated philosopher and published author moves north to live cheek by jowl with the common man and write an account of his experiences. Is this 'The Road to Wigan Pier' for the modern age - not really, only those people who have lead the most sheltered of lives will find any revelations in this book.

Baggini's observations of the attitudes and opinions (philosophy?) of the people living in 'Everytown' will be all too depressingly familiar to most readers. And how could it be otherwise, if his chosen subject is those people in or near the middle of the bell shaped curve, then the chances are that that includes you.

His analysis of these observations is entertaining and well written, but offer no real insight. In short, you probably already know everything in this book.

Oh, and the odds of correctly guessing a randomly generated whole number between 1 and 100, inclusive, when you're given 2 guesses is 49/1 not 50/1.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Brillant
Having family originate from the same postal area as everytown (and one member live on the same road 'Flash Lane'), I bought the book with interest if not slight reluctance - half... Read more
Published 6 months ago by D. Horner

2.0 out of 5 stars Obvious ideas and unsound arguments
Philosopher goes to live in statistically average English town for 6 months to find out what 'Englishness'is. Read more
Published 9 months ago by A. Miles

5.0 out of 5 stars food for a lot of thought
I really enjoyed this book and am buying a few copies for folk I know. For a look at what it mens to be English, what it means to be an outsider in England, and who the people of... Read more
Published 19 months ago by albert perry

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing
The idea of this book sounded so good I couldn't wait to read it. I was so disappointed. So little in the book about the people in postcode S66 (one of the most typical areas in... Read more
Published on 27 April 2007 by Mr. Eamonn Young

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

 Beta (What's this?)
This product's forum (0 discussions)
  Discussion Replies Latest Post
  No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
  [Cancel]


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject










i.e., each product must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback

Fun for Everyone

Christmas Gifts
Achieve over 15,000 RPM with our great range of Powerballs.

›Shop the Powerball store

  

More From Julian Baggini

The Pig That...

The Pig That Wants to be Eaten: And...

‘It is a remarkably addictive read, like a bag of mental fun-size... Read more
£8.99 £6.74

 

Train Hard...Play Hard

Nike, Gola, Converse, and more
Gear up with up to 60% off athletic and outdoor shoes.

›Shop now

  

Treat Someone

Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificates--available in any amount from £5 to £500 With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is).

›Learn more about Gift Certificates

  
Ad

Where's My Stuff?

Delivery and Returns

Need Help?

Your Recent History

  (What's this?)
You have no recently viewed items or searches.

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session.
Continue Shopping: Top Sellers

amazon.co.uk Amazon Home
International Sites:  United States  |  Germany  |  France  |  Japan  |  Canada  |  China
Business Programs: Sell on Amazon  |  Fulfilment by Amazon  |  Join Associates  |  Join Advantage
Customer Service  |  Help  |  View Basket  |  Your Account
About Amazon.co.uk  |  Careers at Amazon
Conditions of Use & Sale |  Privacy Notice  © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates