Produktdetaljer
Biografisk notat
Simon Kuper is an author and Financial Times journalist, born in Uganda and raised around the world. An Oxford graduate, he later attended Harvard as a Kennedy Scholar. He has written for the Observer, The Times and Guardian, and is also the author of The Happy Traitor.An extraordinary book ... I got angrier and angrier and angrier as I read it
- Alastair Campbell,
A searing onslaught on the smirking Oxford insinuation that politics is all just a game. It isn't. It matters
- Matthew Parris,
A devastating portrait of the arrogant rogues and chancers who have spent the past thirteen years playing at politics instead of governing
- Andrew Scull, 'Best Books of 2023', TLS
A gripping read ... exquisite and depressing in equal measure
- Matthew Syed, Sunday Times
A sparkling firework of a book
- Lynn Barber, Spectator
Incisive, insightful and timely
- Richard Beard, New Statesman
Fascinating ... The picture Kuper draws is of a nation with a decadent and deeply unprofessional ruling class, a diagnosis with which it is impossible to disagree
- Hugo Rifkind, The Times
Immensely entertaining ... a tremendous romp jam-packed with delicious indiscretions
- Tim Luckhurst, Daily Mail
A brilliant book
- John Harris, Guardian Weekly Politics podcast
A penetrating analysis of the connections that enabled an incestuous university network to dominate Westminster and give birth to Brexit ... perceptive and full of surprises
- Tim Adams, Observer
Johnson, Cameron, Rees-Mogg, Gove and Cummings all feature in this look at the hidden depths of our current political establishment and its inextricable link to Eton and, in particular, Oxford University
- 50 Best Books for Summer 2022, Sunday Times
Shows how the culture of Oxford decisively influenced the tone of British politics and led to Brexit. Brilliantly written, it gripped me
- Paschal Donohoe, Irish Times
Kuper is alert to the deficiencies of the Oxford Union style, the tendency to substitute some glib debating point for hard-headed analysis ... Engagingly brief with delightful details
- Andrew Gimson, Conservative Home
Intellectually bracing ... a deep dive into the culture of the upper-crust public schools and university that produced ten of the UK's 15 post-war prime ministers
- Andrew Lynch, Business Post
Elegant, witty, economical ... it is absurd how much influence this tiny, moneyed circle has been able to wield, and deeply depressing
- Zoe Williams, TLS
Chums is not just about the smallness of Britain's privileged elite or the early advantages it enjoys. Simon Kuper goes further ... to critique a system that attaches more importance to winning debates than shaping policy
- Mike Phipps, Labour Hub
The best ever written dissection of the formation for what passes as the modern Tory Party's leadership
Philosophy Football
A snapshot of a time gone by, bringing alive 1980s Oxford in vivid detail ... a thrilling read
- Daniel Dipper, Higher Education Policy Institute
Engaging and detailed ... [This] may be the last generation of such Oxford Tories, yet their policies may well influence the United Kingdom for generations
- Andrew Moravcsik, Foreign Affairs
[A] highly entertaining, and often infuriating examination of the clique of Oxford Tories that gave us Brexit
Irish Times
Praise for The Happy Traitor:
Kuper provides a different and valuable perspective, humane and informative
- John Le Carré,
Truly enthralling ... a deeply human read, wonderfully written, on the foibles of a fascinating, flawed, treacherous and sort of likeable character
- Philippe Sands,
The most comprehensive and insightful biography to date
- Ben Macintyre,
Readers who prefer their politics polemical (and Britain in Europe) need look no further than Simon Kuper
Times Best Political and Current Affairs Books of 2022