Kindle
$12.99
Available instantly
Audible Logo Audiobook
$0.00
with membership trial
Hardcover
from $9.83
Paperback
$12.97
Kindle Price: $12.99

Promotions apply when you purchase

These promotions will be applied to this item:

Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions.

Audiobook Price: $15.25

Save: $7.76 (51%)

Read with our free app
You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.
Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions

Buy for others

Give as a gift or purchase for a team or group.
Learn more

Buying and sending eBooks to others

  1. Select quantity
  2. Buy and send eBooks
  3. Recipients can read on any device

These ebooks can only be redeemed by recipients in the US. Redemption links and eBooks cannot be resold.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Amazon book clubs early access
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Explore Amazon Book Clubs

Follow the author

Stuart Maconie
+ Follow
More books from this author
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Hope and Glory: A People’s History of Modern Britain Kindle Edition

by Stuart Maconie (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 395 ratings
See all formats and editions

In Hope and Glory Stuart Maconie goes in search of the days that shaped the Britain we live in today. Taking one event from each decade of the 20th century, he visits the places where history happened and still echoes down the years. Stuart goes to Orgreave and Windsor, Wembley and Wootton Bassett, assembling a unique cast of Britons from Sir Edmund Hillary to Sid Vicious along the way.

It’s quite a trip, full of sex and violence and the occasional scone and jigsaw. From pop stars to politicians, Suffragettes to punks, this is a journey around Britain in search of who we are.

Read more Read less
Previous page
  1. Print length
    323 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Ebury Digital
  5. Publication date
    May 10, 2012
  6. File size
    745 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
Next page
Add a debit or credit card to save time when you check out
Convenient and secure with 2 clicks. Add your card

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Stuart Maconie is a TV and radio presenter, journalist, columnist, and one of the UK's best-selling travel writers. His books include Adventures on the High Teas and Pies and Prejudice, and his work has been compared with Bill Bryson, Alan Bennett, and John Peel.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B007Q25ZHS
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ebury Digital (May 10, 2012)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 10, 2012
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 745 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 323 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 395 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Stuart Maconie

Stuart Maconie

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
395 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Buckhorn365
5.0 out of 5 stars Maconie scores with Hope & Glory
Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2013
Verified Purchase
The ever-present author, DJ, & social critic, Stuart Maconie, writes with humor, precision, and insight about moments in British history that have defined the empire's presence in the world. A daunting task indeed, but one taken on with great opportunity and understanding by Mr Maconie.
Helpful
 Report
S Riaz
5.0 out of 5 stars Hope and Glory
Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2013
Stuart Maconie takes a simple idea in this book and uses it as a starting point for a whole host of entertaining, thoughtful, often humorous, sometimes touching, digressions. The basic premise is that he goes in search of the people, places and events which shaped modern Britain, taking a single day from each decade of the twentieth century. It begins on the 22nd January 1901 and the death of Queen Victoria, allowing him to discuss the suffragettes. The Battle of the Somme allows him to visit villages with 'pals battalions' - which meant that often a whole generation of menfolk were wiped out together (or, in very rare cases, to all return home). Along the way, the author looks at trade unions, television, multi culturalism, climbing Everest, the 1966 world cup, punk rock and the Queen's silver jubilee of 1977, Live Aid (personally my favourite and, I think, the funniest section of the book) and the 1997 election when Tony Blair became PM. Although the author has taken some very serious events and moments, he injects his own humour and personality into every selection, making it is a pleasure to accompany him on his travels. I look forward to reading more by this very talented author.
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

andrew dainton
5.0 out of 5 stars A great read.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 17, 2013
Verified Purchase
An insight into this unique island of hours of locations,some I know some not. Places I would wish to visit ,some not,some it has piqued my interest to explore. People I recognize,some not but mostly with an even hand they are catalogued ,recorded and assessed by this fine writer. Done with wit and astute observation but with an obvious love and affection for his mongrel nation. Occasionally his class threads show through his Armani suit but this can be forgiven because never is it a detached observation from the windows of a train or a car Mr Maconie talks to and more importantly listens to the people he encounters. An added bonus is that I listen to Mr Maconie on the radio so I know his voice and meter of speech and can hear it in my head as I read. I would recommend a listen to him, remember his voice, for me at least it heightens the enjoyment of this excellent read. This is the third Maconie book I have read. Certainly a favourite amongst my authors.
One person found this helpful
 Report
J. Fenton
4.0 out of 5 stars A joyous romp though the 20th century
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 27, 2023
Verified Purchase
Stuart Maconie is not a historian, he is an author with a passion for modern / punk / Northern soul music. He is however, a word craftsman and writes about events with humour, generosity and fury where needed, and does an amazing amount of background understanding of events which gives confidence that his 'take' on something is both accurate and fair. As an ex-sociology lecturer made good, he writes from a liberal Left position as his books reveal, however, he avoids the po-faced virtue signalling of those who hide in warm rooms and publish, his humour is brilliant and he does pathos, shame and tragedy equally well. Much of his writings follows face to face social investigation.
This is the 4th book I have read from his pen ( computer...surely ). As a comer - in to the North, I believe Maconie is its 'sure spokesman'.
John Fenton
One person found this helpful
 Report
Northern Brit UK
5.0 out of 5 stars When you see it in black-n-white, it all makes uncomfortable sense
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 12, 2021
Verified Purchase
Another enjoyable, funny and very informative work. Maconie selects a particular event from each decade of the twentieth century to map out a detailed and highly readable social history of Britain. There’s wit, of course, lots of unusual facts, and Maconie’s inimitable style gently leading the reader to a greater understanding of the country. The finale, of that’s what it can be called, with Blair’s election in the 1990s, is a chilling reminder of where politics has ended up. A must-read for the 21st century.
One person found this helpful
 Report
G. Bell
4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining and insightful - but with a few flaws
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 20, 2012
Verified Purchase
I have to declare an immediate interest - I regard Stuart Maconie as one of the best broadcasters and chroniclers of everyday life currently around. He's incredibly witty and funny, and as always that is what makes this book sparkle. He also appears to be an incredibly nice bloke, a humane and sypathetic commentator, and someone who would provide unbeatable company down the pub. This is an interesting concept for a book, occupies a niche I've not seen filled before, and is written with Stuart's usual attractive blend of acute observation and accessible explanation of what in other hands would be dry historical context.

However I'm not sure why someone (presumably at the publishers) decided to add the subtitle "A People's History of Modern Britain" - as this simply points up a couple of weaknesses in the book. Namely that it's not really a "People's History", and it's not really "of Britain".

It's a series of explorations of aspects of everyday life which help shape the society we live in, each cleverly hung on the peg of a key date from each decade. However Maconie makes no bones about his personal perspective in all these areas, and his accounts are - by his own declaration - far from impartial. That makes for a fun read, but anyone expecting an authoritative reference book should look elsewhere. For example it makes a very pleasant change (as opposed to the usual tabloid agenda about immigration and race) to read a positive and truthful account of how those living in areas filled with people from around the world generally get on well with each other - because underneath all the cultural differences, most people wherever they're from are nice, considerate and decent. But there's a niggling doubt that Stuart really should have mentioned - even in passing - that not everything is rosy in every corner of multi-cultural Britain. That is also a fact of contemporary life, and Stuart does the noble cause of tolerance no favours by ignoring it.

And although all the themes explored apply to Britain as a whole, this is essentially a book about England. It's not just Maconie's slightly irritating tic of using the word "England" when he means "Britain" and vice versa, and it's not just that he makes only one single foray outside of England, to Snowdon. It's the fact that he appears disappointingly unaware of the different perspectives from different parts of the UK on almost every theme in the book. An obvious untold story, an unusual 'take' I've never seen chronicled, would be the reaction to 1966 in the bits of the UK outside England. Were people cheering on their neighbours? Were they in fact supporting Germany? Or - as I suspect - were they really not much bothered one way or the other? Same with the chapter on rambling and the 'right to roam' - there's literally no mention of the fact that this issue was pioneered under entirely separate legislation in Scotland.

The final chapter - the weakest of the book - illustrates the problem perfectly. In 100 years' time what will be remembered about the 1990's won't be a landslide election (what Stuart concentrates on), nor even the mass grief following a royal death. What the history books will record will be the end of 40 years of violence in Northern Ireland, and the biggest shake-up of the British constitution for 300 years in the form of devolution to Wales and Scotland. But because these aren't English phenomena, Stuart can't find even one word to mention them however fleetingly.

It's a shame, because despite all that I would heartily recommend this as an entertaining, insightful and very funny book by a gifted writer and top bloke.
8 people found this helpful
 Report
Poppy
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully written, compassionate, entertaining and magnificent.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 14, 2011
Verified Purchase
I've been a fan of Stuart Maconie for some time and have thoroughly enjoyed all his books, particularly 'Pies and Prejudice'. I wasn't actually sure he would ever better that effort but with 'Hope and Glory' he has at least matched it and possibly gone on a step further. 'As funny as Bryson and as wise as Orwell' is the Observer's verdict and for once this is no hyperbole. Maconie writes beautifully, he has created laugh out loud moments alongside moving accounts written with great poignancy. Some would describe Stuart Maconie as having a left wing agenda but really his observations transcend politics. He simply writes with enormous compassion and a thorough understanding of the human condition. From the Battle of the Somme to the National Front, the Suffragettes to Simon Cowell via Bobby Moore, Punk and a whole lot more this is history as it should be. Never dull, always entertaining, informative and full of lessons we should learn from. An outstanding book and certainly my candidate for the most enjoyable book of the year.
19 people found this helpful
 Report
Report an issue

Does this item contain inappropriate content?
Report
Do you believe that this item violates a copyright?
Report
Does this item contain quality or formatting issues?
Report