Description
A DAILY TELEGRAPH BOOK OF THE YEAR 2022
''A spirited attempt at uncovering the mystery of how Birmingham has managed for so long to stand at the centre of Britain''s history without anyone noticing ... This absorbing book shows us how we did it'' Observer
''Vinen has written a history of Birmingham, but it is also a theory of Birmingham. And also, perhaps, a theory of England. I buy it'' Daily Telegraph
For over a century, Birmingham has been the second largest town in England, and central to modern history. In his richly enjoyable new book Richard Vinen captures the drama of a small village that grew to become the quintessential city of the twentieth century: a place of mass production, full employment and prosperity that began in the 1930s, but which came to a cataclysmic halt in the 1980s. For most of that time, Birmingham has also been a magnet for migration, drawing in people from Wales, Ireland, India, Pakistan and the Ca
