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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Informative and Entertaining, 20 Jun 2005
I have always thought Mark Lawson performs his role as host on the Late Review superbly, and if you like his style on that, you will enjoy this book. His fascination with popular culture and current affairs, and how they reflect the psyche of a nation is evident. He describes trips to various unglamorous places (including Timaru in New Zealand, Barrow in Alaska, Brussels, Luxembourg and Switzerland) and extracts much humour from these visits, whilst managing to be very informative. I feel that I now know what Expo is, what Eurodisney is like, not to go to Alaska, and that Nigeria's capital is planned along the lines of Milton Keynes. He seems to be on the reader's side, in trying to tell you what he thinks you will want to know. He also provides a refresher in the politics of the era - depressed Western economies and Charles and Diana separating. It seems positively historic now. It is true that it does not flow quite as well as Bryson, to which it is very similar. Maybe he is a more intellectual and less feeling writer. Interestingly the book really comes to life when he gets personal. I found the Swiss railway trip vivid, potent and hilarious, possibly because he was travelling with his father. I am still mulling over his anxious dream and what it says about their relationship. (Lawson himself obviously doesn't have a clue how to decode it.) I wish he'd made more of this in a way, or would return to it. It felt like a BBC play waiting to happen. If you share Lawson's obvious love of studying people, politics and culture, are curious to know what these places are like but don't want to actually go there, and fancy a few laughs along the way, this is highly recommended.
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by Stuart Maconie
