{"product_id":"all-the-wide-border-9780008499211","title":"All the Wide Border","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA Waterstones Travel Book of the Year 2023A funny, warm and timely meditation on identity and belonging, following the scenic route along the EnglandWales border: Britain's deepest faultline.There is a line on the map: to one side Wales, small, rugged and stubborn; on the other England, crucible of the most expansionist culture the world has ever seen. It is a line that has been dug, debated, defined and defended for twenty centuries.All the Wide Border is a personal journey through the places, amongst the people, and across the divides of the border between England and Wales. Taking in some of our loveliest landscapes, and our darkest secrets, this is a region of immeasurable wonder and interest. It is here that the deepest roots and thorniest paradoxes of Britishness lie. The border between the countries, even as a concept, is ragged, jagged and many-layered.Garlanded author Mike Parker has adored and explored these places his entire life. Born in England but settled in Wales, he fin\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘I loved this book. Mike Parker weaves together a great deal of wide reading, hard thinking and soulful tramping in his funny, thoughtful and evocative investigation of the Welsh–English border.’ \u003cstrong\u003eJesse Armstrong,\u003c\/strong\u003e creator of \u003cem\u003eSuccession\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003ePeep Show\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e‘Delightful and perceptive … Poses searching questions about identity, culture and political power.’ \u003cstrong\u003eWaterstones Books of the Year\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e‘A joyful canter through the Marches. Delightfully engaging. Blending history, literature and personal anecdote, Mike Parker writes with energy and wit.’ \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eTLS\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e‘No-one maps the secrets of the UK quite like Mike Parker.’ \u003cstrong\u003eAyesha Hazarika\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e‘A brilliant, fascinating book; Parker is funny and lyrical whilst always choosing brutal truth over sentimentality.’ \u003cstrong\u003eMiles Jupp\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e'Classic Parker – a delicious, learned tour through a fascinating place.' \u003cstrong\u003eTom Bullough\u003c\/strong\u003e, author of \u003cem\u003eSarn Helen\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e‘Genuinely great.’ \u003cstrong\u003eAdrian Chiles\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e'I gobbled this up.' \u003cstrong\u003eJude Rogers\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e‘A beautifully written journey through the history and landscape of the border country and a clear-eyed analysis of its physical and psychological dividing line – the best kind of travelogue.’ \u003cstrong\u003eRichard King\u003c\/strong\u003e, author of \u003cem\u003eBrittle with Relics: A History of Wales, 1962–97\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e‘This enthralling journey beautifully celebrates our ancient frontier land and is a present-day reminder of its’ enduring duty.’ \u003cstrong\u003eTudur Owen\u003c\/strong\u003e, BAFTA winning comedian and presenter\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e‘I was often overcome by “fierce wonder”. Fine writing indeed.’ \u003cstrong\u003eJohn Sam Jones\u003c\/strong\u003e, author of \u003cem\u003eThe Journey is Home\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e‘Engaging, entertaining and very readable.’ \u003cstrong\u003eNation.Cymru\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e‘A likeable, highly literate companion.’ \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eNew Welsh Review\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e‘A kind of mini-biography of the British psyche emerges from Parker's work, its learning lightly worn and its tales well told, full of interest and incident’ \u003cstrong\u003eHoratio Clare\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"HarperCollins Publishers","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49399536681303,"sku":"9780008499211","price":10.44,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780008499211.jpg?v=1730467907","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/all-the-wide-border-9780008499211","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}