A little too self-effacing even for an Englishwoman writing about the English. But interesting overall. ( )

Somewhat long-winded. The final conclusions seem to be the same as the conclusions to each chapter. Nor do I think the English are nearly as disfunctional as she claims. ( )

Dubbing itself as 'pop science' Kate Fox illustrates her thesis with her own style of writing. Self-effacing yet perceptive this book summarises in an easily readable form a very great deal of detailled anthropological field work on that mysterious tribe, the English.

It's an enjoyable read, and comes to various conclusions about our English psyche, many of which are frightening accurate and recognisable to an Englishman like myself! I lost count of the number of times I thought 'I do that', though at times the author allows herself some very sweeping generalisations. The section on food, for example, seems to reveal some personal prejudices which are not admitted to, which is unusual as generally the author IS very reflective on her own biases (she is an anthropologist, after all). There's also an over reliance on other books on 'Englishness', and she frequently quotes Jeremy Paxman's book, though this is always in a compare and contrast sort of way, and may be just a way of referencing another popular book on the subject.

Well worth getting if you are English, or if we as a nation puzzle you! I'm handing it over to my wife, who is half African, and often says we do stupid things, maybe this will help her understand!

A light, amusing book attempting to define the English character through careful systematic observation and interviews with both ‘natives’ and foreigners. Fox presents her study in a series of chapters dedicated to each aspect of society, from dress to food, general chatter to alcohol and pubs. In each chapter she draws up a set of common behaviours and rules, separating broad Western generalisations from the distinctively English approach in order to pinpoint what makes us different and what character traits of the English personality can be deduced from the way we conduct ourselves.

Whether discussing Goth fashion sense or McDonalds, men bonding in a pub or our need for solitary pursuits and protective boundaries, Fox maintains a light and accessible tone, poking gentle fun at our eccentricities while remaining respectful of them. It is very amusing to see an English woman so succinctly capturing the essence of her nation, her instincts turning against her as she tries to pluck up the courage to test our boundaries, bumping into people on the street or (God forbid) queue jumping to gauge the public reaction. Though her conclusions don’t really tell us anything new, the journey is so humorous and insightful that it hardly matters! ( )