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This comprehensive survey of the events, people and themes that makes us who we are explores the interwoven culture, society, politics and economics of the recent past. Two hundred concise essays cover topics as diverse as pornography and the poll tax, the Blitz and New Labour. but also to provoke debate. Bombarded by information as never before, we all need to appreciate the extent to which seemingly disparate events connect with each other and echo previous developments, which we are in danger of forgetting. The entries offer a consistent line of argument with a refreshing disrespect for old orthodoxies; at the same time, readers are given the essential facts on which to base their own opinions.