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Andrew Anthony

The Fallout Hardcover – 6 Sept. 2007

by Andrew Anthony (Author)

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In 2001 Andrew Anthony was 39, a successful "Observer" and "Guardian" journalist who had just become a father. He was perfectly poised to settle into English middle-class middle-age life. A signed-up member of the liberal left, he'd even spent time supporting the Sandinistas in Nicaragua in the 80s. There were assumptions that, like wallet and keys, he never left the house without: the greatest menace to world security was America; crime was a function of poverty; Israel was the source of all the troubles in the Middle East. Then came the wake-up call: 9/11. Shocked by the response of liberal friends and colleagues - a belief that America had it coming, a determination to understand the perpetrator rather than support the victim - Anthony was forced to re-examine and unpick his prejudices. It seemed there were other threats in the world far more malicious and dangerous than America. Could he really go on tolerating the intolerable? "The Fall-Out" is his memoir, an account of his political education in Thatcher's Britain and the painful midlife reassessment. It shifts from the universal to the personal, the global to the local. The Iraq war, the vicious murder of Theo van Gogh, the 7/7 bombings, ethnic divisions and violence on quiet London streets: Anthony touches on all these to show how the 'muddled thinking, hypocrisy and cant' of the liberal middle-class has led to a world where guilt leaves people too timid to confront the vital issues of the day. Along the way there are revealing encounters with Christopher Hitchens, George Galloway, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Yusuf Islam and Michael Moore. From one of the country's finest journalists, this a major book about broken dreams, darkened illusions and big questions that no longer match their received answers. This is a controversial and humane reality check - an invitation to wake up and smell the cordite.

Print length

320 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Jonathan Cape Ltd
Publication date

6 Sept. 2007
Dimensions

14.45 x 2.84 x 22.38 cm
ISBN-10

0224080776
ISBN-13

978-0224080774
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Product description

Review

"vivid, emotively charged account" -- Observer

"Anthony is a vivid and sensitive writer... clever, engaging and palpably sincere" -- The Spectator

"It is sparely written, frequently affecting, and his judgements are morally sane and sensible" -- The Sunday Telegraph

'Anthony is one of my favourite journalists: he is incapable of an inelegant phrase or ill-considered argument'
-- The Guardian, Decca Aitkenhead

'Anthony's engaging prose style is well-suited to this personal account of disenchantment.' -- Metro

'I don't say this lightly: it's an excellent book, and I recommend you read it' -- Guardian Unlimited: Comment is Free

`Anthony's forceful characterisation of the difficulties in which liberalism in Britain finds itself enmeshed deserves attention.'
-- Times Literary Supplement

`Compelling account of one man's voyage from youthful Marxism to middle-aged embrace of bourgeois values.' -- Mail on Sunday

`This is an exceptionally thoughtful analysis of how sections of the West have fostered the ills that now besiege it.' -- The First Post

`beautifully written, and the personal reminiscences were illuminating and even moving' -- Sunday Times

About the Author

Andrew Anthony is a feature writer and investigative journalist. He has written for the Observer for 10 years, and also writes for the Guardian, Vogue and the Saturday telegraph. His features cover a wide range of subjects: politics, crime, sport, literature, TV and popular culture.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Jonathan Cape Ltd (6 Sept. 2007)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0224080776
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0224080774
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 14.45 x 2.84 x 22.38 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 1,540,785 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 47,787 in Historical Biographies (Books)
- 81,112 in Government & Politics

Customer reviews:
28 ratings

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Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5

28 global ratings

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Top reviews from United Kingdom

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amantedofado

Another step in the correct direction

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 21 August 2008

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As another liberal who has been appalled by attitudes on the Left and among self-proclaimed 'liberals', I welcome this robust and well written study. Like Nick Cohen's incisive analysis of the Left and how it has strayed far from its own principles, Anthony's book paints a very personal progress from the old left towards a more authentically liberal position. The use of 9/11 as a turning-point for his own reflections and as a date from which so much anti-American sentiment began on the left serves as a useful measurement for change. My own strong interest (and most of the work I do) centres on Islamism and Islamic terrorism, and I found Anthony's strongly-expressed concern with this issue and the issues that arise from it (particularly a Leftist defence of people who are anti-democratic, anti-women, anti-free speech, etc.) an important part of this work. The one thing he did not really tackle was Israel, and the way in which the modern Left has used anti-Israelism to revive a vicious anti-Semitism. (On which see this profound and elegant study by philosopher Bernard Harrison The Resurgence of Anti-semitism: Jews, Israel and Liberal Opinion (Philosophy and the Global Context) ). If Andrew Anthony ever produces a new edition of this book, I hope he will consider the issue of left-wing anti-Semitism and the very real betrayal it represents. But do read his book and be prepared to have your eyelids unstuck.

12 people found this helpful

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Daryl

Still relevant today

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 10 January 2018

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An excellent book by someone who is a true liberal. By that I mean a belief in freedom of speech, freedom of religion, woman rights, minority rights etc. The book discusses how many on the modern left align themselves with and justify the actions of individuals who are extremely authortarian. The reason? They are anti-West. This book is probably more relevant than ever with the current Labour leadership and is similar to Nick Cohen's book What's Left? An updated version would be most welcome.

One person found this helpful

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Miles Plastic

It's refreshing to encounter a liberal with the integrity to ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 1 April 2016

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It's refreshing to encounter a liberal with the integrity to admit his failings. This is a devastating analysis of the disingenuous hypocrisy of Guardian reading liberal-left people. I've known a fair few and their fraudulent posturing is truly repulsive. These are the people who are 'up the arse of those that want them dead' as Martin Amis so accurately said.

4 people found this helpful

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Bulent Acar

Rereading it again I found it remarkably relevant and up ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 3 May 2016

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Rereading it again I found it remarkably relevant and up to date after 8 years of its publication. The depressing fact is many of the issues raised here are still with us.

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A. F. Lane

Great and informative piece of work

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 12 March 2014

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This must be about the third or fourth time I have bought this book - I keep giving a copy to people! I have travelled a similar political journey to Andrew Anthony - good to know there are others out there!

5 people found this helpful

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Marcus G

Honest, engaging and thought provoking

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 27 November 2007

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This is an excellent read - a combination of political critique & the personal story of a liberal on the road to Damascus beset with false hopes and doubts about the established socialist/liberal world view. The central message of the book explores whether it's possible to be liberal yet still wish for a better, progressive modern world. Read this.

10 people found this helpful

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VH

Genuinely one of the best books I have read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 9 October 2014

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Genuinely one of the best books I have read. I have passed it on to family and friends. I only wish more left wingers would give it a read. They need it more than anyone.

2 people found this helpful

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oldhasbeen

Well worth a read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 7 March 2011

Verified Purchase

... especially if you're a "dried-out" former soggy liberal. Superbly written and often engrossing, it covers a lot in its 300 pages. Recommended.

3 people found this helpful

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