It pulled no punches on the truth and I LOVE how blunt it was about, let’s be honest, how much of a proper bellend Britain has been through the ages. Andy Thistlewood, head of development for Open Mike, says: " James Felton's book is laugh-out-loud funny, so naturally we wanted to exploit his genius!

A TV series based on the book by James Felton, which focuses on the "painfully funny history of Britain you were never taught at school". We have gone round the world like a spoiled brat, taking and smashing other people's things in petulant ridiculous rages.That we also destroyed the evidence of our own actions during the handing back of various territories, shows we knew it was wrong and did everything to not be held to account for our actions. Of the 52 subject matters, I would suggest a reasonably well educated Brit will know about 45 of them.

Now, whenever we have a political discussion that touches on the distribution of wealth, racism and colonialism, he urges me to read this book. Not only this, it’s an informative read, truly shocking me about our nations history and opening my eyes to the racist, homophobic and sexist nation that we are- which is saying something given our current society. It shouldn't really be the case - how poorly we British treated our own, our colonial subjects, our neighbours and rivals shouldn't feel lessened by repetition or by a humorous/satirical treatment. This is a good gift for those acquaintances who aren't particularly clued up on British history, but don't half love to bang on about how great Britain is.Initially both amusing and shocking, this slim volume received as a Christmas present was entertaining and absorbing. It's clear that every country prefers to dwell on only the good things in its history, but it is fair to say that the particular English nationalism that is presently in control of the UK state, is truly exceptional in its desire to ignore so much of reality. The delusion of "British Greatness" that we tell ourselves is the cause of our own current crises and won't be fixed until as a society and a culture, we stop lying to ourselves. This is, again, because it concentrates inordinately on the mere idea of sovereignty, but completely neglects the actual operation of it.

Obviously I have learnt more in the course of my lifetime, but only in the past few years has it occurred to me just how little I know, given I’m interested in history. It's more a grab bag of things to trot out to sound superior whilst engaging in pointless internet argument than a cogent warning of the evils of empire. And this was even before the George Floyd murder and the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement, demonstrations in times of Covid-19 and the toppling of Edward Colston’s statue in Bristol.It's an entertaining read and no doubt has opened my eyes to some moments in history the United Kingdom would like to forget. However, the spray paint and graffiti applied by the BLM demonstrators will be left in place to reflect modern opinion and the history of Bristol. This is a relatively short read, which highlights the horrendous acts of our predecessors, and, believe me, they certainly did not cover themselves in glory, to say the least! And Brexit Britain refuses to attenuate itself in any way, even though its inflamed trajectory makes it more probable than not that the UK will break up.

Through his twitter platform of over 200,000 followers and counting, he is a well-known narrator of the Brexit crisis, averaging around 150,000 retweets a month. This was combined, it is fair to say, with an angular and obsessive nationalism which refused to acknowledge the existence of the Unionist people in northern Ireland as having some say over their future, and in general, of a refusal to allow Irishness be defined in a broader and more encompassing manner. By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file.This book is headlined as “things you didn’t learn at school” and that’s the first problem with it, as much of the content I did. I have no doubt it will make perfect comedy television at a time when Britain's global reputation is under the microscope, and I hope it introduces more people to James' brilliant book, which we are very proud to publish on the Sphere list. Felton has a true knack for making the worst of our history laugh out loud funny, which I did many a time reading this book. As the title suggests, the author takes us through a list of the bad things we’ve done throughout history - including the often insane reasons we use to justify them.