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Was Britain's postwar rebuilding the height of mid-century chic or
the concrete embodiment of crap towns? John Grindrod decided to
find out how blitzed, slum-ridden and crumbling austerity Britain
became, in a few short years, a space-age world of concrete, steel
and glass. What he finds is a story of dazzling space-age optimism,
ingenuity and helipads - so many helipads - tempered by protests,
deadly collapses and scandals that shook the government.
A captivating exploration of Britain's most iconic contemporary
buildings, from the Barratt home to the Millennium Dome. ***TIMES
BOOK OF THE WEEK*** 'A punchy polemic ... Highly readable.' 'A love
letter to contemporary buildings and a fantastic account of recent
British history, rich in humour.' NINA STIBBE 'Brilliant,
encyclopaedic, funny and often cutting.' DANNY DORLING 'An
eloquent, witty, passionate tour of Britain since the 1980s.' JOHN
BOUGHTON 'Recounts the stories of our lived landscapes with wit,
passion and a shot of anger.' TOM DYCKHOFF 'Grindrod has spoken to
everyone and his observations are humane and acute.' OWEN HATHERLEY
Wimpey homes. Millennium monuments. Riverside flats. Wind farms.
Spectacular skyscrapers. City centre apartments. Out of town malls.
The buildings designed in our lifetimes encapsulate the dreams and
aspirations of our culture, while also revealing the sobering
realities. Whether modest or monumental, they offer a living
history of Britain, symbols of the forces that have shaped our
modern landscape and icons in their own right. ICONICON is an
enthralling journey around the Britain we have created since 1980:
the horrors and delights, the triumphs and failures. From space-age
tower blocks to suburban business parks, and from postmodernist
exuberance to Passivhaus eco-efficiency, this is at once a
revelatory architectural grand tour and an endlessly witty and
engaging piece of social history.
A captivating exploration of Britain's most iconic contemporary
buildings, from the Barratt home to the Millennium Dome. 'A love
letter to contemporary buildings and a fantastic account of recent
British history, rich in humour.' NINA STIBBE 'Brilliant,
encyclopaedic, funny and often cutting.' DANNY DORLING 'An
eloquent, witty, passionate tour of Britain since the 1980s.' JOHN
BOUGHTON 'Recounts the stories of our lived landscapes with wit,
passion and a shot of anger.' TOM DYCKHOFF 'Grindrod has spoken to
everyone and his observations are humane and acute.' OWEN HATHERLEY
Wimpey homes. Millennium monuments. Riverside flats. Wind farms.
Spectacular skyscrapers. City centre apartments. Out of town malls.
The buildings designed in our lifetimes encapsulate the dreams and
aspirations of our culture, while also revealing the sobering
realities. Whether modest or monumental, they offer a living
history of Britain, symbols of the forces that have shaped our
modern landscape and icons in their own right. ICONICON is an
enthralling journey around the Britain we have created since 1980:
the horrors and delights, the triumphs and failures. From space-age
tower blocks to suburban business parks, and from postmodernist
exuberance to Passivhaus eco-efficiency, this is at once a
revelatory architectural grand tour and an endlessly witty and
engaging piece of social history.
A host of comedians, writers and viewers, including Rebecca Front,
Andrew Collins, Kevin Eldon, Emma Kennedy, Richard Herring, Jim
Shelley and David Quantick share funny and heartfelt rants and
raves on everything from soaps to sitcoms, sci-fi to reality shows,
HBO to QVC. All of TV is here: the age-old rift between BBC and ITV
that tore families apart; the secret shame of crying at adverts;
and those significant moments in life when television has made for
an unforgettable backdrop. Richard Herring has a controversial new
theory about Goodnight Sweetheart, Boyd Hilton shares his all-time
comedy top ten and Rebecca Front demolishes the cliches of news
reading. They're joined by a list of fellow telly addicts with axes
to grind, . So, if you have ever rooted for the most offensive
candidates in The Apprentice or repeatedly corrected Supernanny Jo
Frost's pronounciation of 'unacceptable' then this book will give
you and your spleen many happy memories of the hours you've spent
shouting at the telly.
'Evocative and intelligent' Guardian Discover the secret history of
our green belts.The first book to tell the story of Britain's green
belts, Outskirts is at once a fascinating social history, a
stirring evocation of the natural world, and a poignant tale of
growing up in a place, and within a family, like no other.
'Illuminating and enjoyable' David Kynaston, Spectator Green belts
are part of the landscape and psyche of post-war Britain, but have
led to conflicts at every level of society - between
conservationists and developers, town and country, politicians and
people, nimbys and the forces of progress. Growing up on 'the last
road in London' on an estate at the edge of the woods, John
Grindrod had a childhood that mirrored these tensions. His family,
too, seemed caught between two worlds: his wheelchair-bound mother
and soft hearted father had moved from the inner city and had
trouble adjusting. His warring brothers struggled too: there was
the sporty one who loved the outdoors, and the agoraphobic who
hated it. And then there was John, an unremarkable boy on the edge
of it all discovering something magical. In the green belts John
discovers strange hidden places, from nuclear bunkers to buried
landfill sites, and along the way meets planners, protestors,
foresters and residents whose passions for and against the green
belt tell a fascinating tale of Britain today.
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