1.15Kg of CO2
144 litre(s) of Water
0.0086 Tree(s)
1 book donated to global literacy projects
Sad Little Men :The revealing book about the world that shaped Boris Johnson
Sad Little Men :The revealing book about the world that shaped Boris Johnson
hardback
Published:
26 August, 2021
Popular Books by Richard Beard
View All Books by Richard Beard
Description
'The most important book I've read this year' Adam Rutherford, author of Control
In 1975, as a child, Richard Beard was sent away from his home to sleep in a dormitory. So were Boris Johnson and David Cameron.
In those days a private boys' boarding school education was largely the same experience as it had been for generations: a training for the challenges of Empire. He didn't enjoy it. But the first and most important lesson was to not let that show.
Being separated from the people who love you is traumatic. How did that feel at the time, and what sort of adult does it mould?
This is a story about England, and a portrait of a type of boy, trained to lead, who becomes a certain type of man. As clearly as an X-ray, it reveals the make-up of those who seek power - what makes them tick, and why.
Sad Little Men addresses debates about privilege head-on; clearly and unforgettably, it shows the problem with putting a succession of men from boarding schools into positions of influence, including 10 Downing Street.
Now, with our government in crisis, it's time to ask if these are really the kind of men we want in charge?
'Insanely readable and enjoyable' Tom Holland, author of Dominion
'Well written... everyone...should pick it up', TLS, Books of the Year
More Details
| Type | Book |
|---|---|
| ISBN13 | 9781787302938 |
| ISBN10 | 1787302938 |
| Number Of Pages | 288 |
| Item Weight | 407 g |
| Product Dimensions | 144 x 222 x 28 mm |
| Publisher / Reseller | Vintage Publishing |
| Format | hardback |
Media Reviews
Read this book * Alastair Campbell *
Definitive and brilliantly expressed * Viv Groskop *
Dazzling in its anger and the force of its argument * Times Literary Supplement *
A sensitive and incisive analysis of the British class system...insanely readable * Tom Holland, author of Dominion *
One of the finest polemics I have ever come across... Sad Little Men has been an eye-opener * Spectator *
GoodReads Reviews
Author's Bio
Richard Beard is the author of Acts of the Assassins, which was shortlisted for the Goldsmiths Prize, and most recently the memoir The Day That Went Missing, which was shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize, the James Tait Black Prize and won the PEN Ackerley Prize. In the United States the book was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award.
In the twenty years since his first book, he has published critically acclaimed novels and narrative non-fiction, including Becoming Drusilla, the story of how a friendship between two men was changed by a gender transition.
He has served as a judge for Canada's Giller Prize and for the BBC and Costa Short Story Awards, and is a dour opening batsman for the Authors Cricket Club.