May 2009 will be the tenth anniversary of the first elections to the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly. This was the beginning of a decade of change - which now includes the restoration of powers to Stormont - that is showing every sign of being an irreversible process. Breaking Up Britain is a unique collection of English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish contributors, featuring key political activists from the nationalist parties, commentators and campaigners, academics and journalists. Each writer explores the change that the break-up demands in their own nation, but also discusses its impact upon the whole. This dialogue of differences is essential reading for anyone interested in the shape of politics and culture after a Union. 'This brilliant book helps us understand what Scots, Welsh, Irish and English neighbours, freed from an unhappy Union, might look like.' Billy Bragg

'Mark Perryman has long been one of the more articulate commentators on issues of national identity' Andrew Shields, Time Out Praise for Mark Perryman's previous book Imagined Nation: 'Some of the sharpest thinking around on both the pitfalls of nationalism and the potential for a progressive English identity' Gary Younge

Mark Perryman is a writer and regular media commentator on Englishness and football, and a research fellow in sport and leisure culture at the University of Brighton. He is convenor of the LondonEnglandFans supporters' group, co-founder of Philosophy Football and author of a number of books, including Ingerland: Travels with a Football Nation and (as editor) Imagined Nation: England after Britain.