Now We Have Your Attention: The New Politics of the People - Hardcover

Shenker, Jack

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1847925405 ISBN 13: 9781847925404

Publisher: Bodley Head, 2019

Synopsis

"One of the most important and compelling books I've ever read, by one of Britain's most gifted writers. If you want to understand why we are in this crisis, listen to the voices all too often airbrushed from the political conversation" OWEN JONES

Now We Have Your Attention makes sense of what is happening in British politics by taking a radically different perspective: the people’s.

From a warehouse in Manchester to a pub in Essex, from the outskirts of Glasgow to a racecourse in Durham, Jack Shenker uncovers the root causes of our current crisis and the future direction of British politics through the lives of ordinary individuals. Taking us deep into communities hollowed out by austerity and decades of economic disadvantage, among a generation crippled by precarious work and unaffordable housing, he shows where the chaos at Westminster ultimately springs from – and how disillusionment with it is fuelling a passionate engagement with politics of a completely different kind: local, personal, effective and utterly fearless.

Joining a ‘McStrike’ protest on a roundabout in Cambridge and a gathering of the London Renters’ Union in the aftermath of Grenfell, meeting hard-right bloggers in Newcastle and climate change protesters in Brighton, Shenker draws on exceptional access to campaign groups, activist movements and grassroots gatherings throughout the country – including unique access to Momentum, who have re-radicalised the Labour party from the outside in – to introduce us to the citizens and leaders of tomorrow: people who are changing things for themselves.

Inspiring and terrifying in equal measure, Now We Have Your Attention uncovers a revolutionary transformation in attitudes and behaviour, and a future that will shape us all.

About this title

Review:

"One of the most important and compelling books I've ever read, by one of Britain's most gifted writers. If you want to understand why we are in this crisis, listen to the voices all too often airbrushed from the political conversation" OWEN JONES"

"An exploration of a nation in distress, touching on many of the key fractures that have opened in British society [and] the energy and vision of activists seeking to build something different ... skilfully compiled through the first-hand stories of the protagonists ... told with great sensitivity and empathy ... deeply moving ... [George Packer’s] The Unwinding is the closest comparison. Shenker is an excellent guide and an elegant writer ... urgent' WILLIAM DAVIES, Guardian" (William Davies Guardian)

"For Jack Shenker, understanding the Brexit vote and the transformation of party politics means looking for answers where others have failed to tread... The author’s passion – and the defiance of his subjects – is infectious. You have to applaud him for finding the untold stories behind the rolling omnishambles that is British politics in 2019" (Dan Hancox Observer)

"Jack Shenker’s elegantly written book not only describes how the calamity of Britain today was long in the making, it outlines a future about which one can reasonably feel hope" PANKAJ MISHRA" (Pankaj Mishra)

"Compelling... [Now We Have Your Attention is] a significant democratic intervention" (Jon Cruddas Prospect)

About the Author:

Jack Shenker is an award-winning reporter on radical politics and protest whose work has been shortlisted for the Orwell Prize. In his mid-twenties he was appointed Egypt correspondent for the Guardian, covering the 2011 revolution and Arab uprisings, which led to his critically acclaimed first book, The Egyptians: A Radical Story. He writes regularly for a wide range of publications, including Granta, the New York Times and the London Review of Books; his journalism has covered Gaza, Africa, Central Asia and the United States, as well as Britain and Europe, and has been translated into several languages. He is based in London.

About this edition

• Publisher: Bodley Head
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 1847925405
• ISBN 13: 9781847925404
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 304