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Now We Have Your Attention
Now We Have Your Attention
Oct 5, 2024 1:19 AM

Author:Jack Shenker

Now We Have Your Attention

'One of the most important and compelling books I've ever read...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.

Reviews

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

—— 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

A beautifully written piece of cultural analysis … does an excellent job of providing deep historical context … Shenker has a powerful ability to tell stories that are resonant and arresting … Hope is what makes Now We Have Your Attention distinctive. Shenker finds many groups that … are doing what only social movements can do: dramatically widen … the range of ideas deemed acceptable in public discourse and policy debate

—— Joan C. Williams , Times Literary Supplement

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

With scrupulous probing and sensitive interpretation, this penetrating inquiry lays bare the malaise of deindustrialization and austerity in Britain... The picture that unfolds is shocking, but also inspiring, with rays of hope that a better future may be within reach

—— Noam Chomsky

Compelling… [Now We Have Your Attention is] a significant democratic intervention

—— Jon Cruddas , Prospect

Its central feature is its attentiveness – to people and to places often overlooked. In a work that chronicles inspiring acts of resistance, the care that defines Shenker’s prose feels like its own quiet act of solidarity… The new politics of the people, as the book’s subtitle puts it, may not yet have any definite form: it is emergent rather than dominant, contested, vulnerable. But it is the best hope we’ve got. And in Jack Shenker’s book, it has a document equal to its ambitions and to its fortitude

—— Tim Schneider , Red Pepper

A gripping, meticulously told political drama. With great skill, tenacity and genuine feeling, Jeremy Seal re-assembles the extraordinary build-up to Turkey's 1960 coup, its courtroom aftermath and its tragic denouement. In doing so, he presents a brilliant portrait of oscillating populism and pragmatism, military force and religious fervour, democracy and state brutality, that appears as relevant to today's world as it was sixty years ago

—— Philip Marsden

An excellent historical lens through which to view the country's political landscape

—— Colin Freeman , Daily Telegraph

A page turning quest into the greatest judicial murder story of its time, but also a physical journey across Anatolia and into the violent passions of Turkish politics where "not taking sides" is not an option. Which is why this book is not just a revelation, but also a love letter to the contemporary nation, written by England's pre-eminent travel writer on Turkey

—— Barnaby Rogerson

Lucid and multi-layered, backed by brilliant scholarship lightly worn, Jeremy Seal's gripping narrative moves effortlessly from the personal to the political as it charts the rise and fall of the man who, after Ataturk, reset the direction of the Turkish republic. It is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand modern Turkey

—— Jason Goodwin

A deeply interesting meeting point between a historical account of a decisive period in the history of Turkey and a modern travelogue... A context that is vividly presented in Seal's impressive work. In A Coup in Turkey the reader will find a well-researched and thrilling book that provides a relevant approach to a relatively unknown period of Turkish history

—— Marc Martorell , London School of Economics

An extraordinary book that lingers in the memory long after you've read the final page. I became totally engrossed in Daniel Lee's investigations to discover the story behind long hidden Nazi documents.

—— The Rt Hon. the Baroness Smith of Basildon

Many of the most horrific acts against humanity during the Holocaust were carried out by the untold thousands of low-level, virtually-unknown civil servants, who facilitated the worst deeds of the Nazi enterprise without ever getting their own hands dirty. In this brilliantly researched story of one such 'ordinary Nazi,' Daniel Lee illuminates the whole.

—— Martha Weinman Lear, author of Heartsounds and Where Did I Leave My Glasses?

A captivating portrait of an "ordinary Nazi." It is also a compelling account of Lee's sleuthwork... Lee propels his reader toward a denouement rich in mystery, mayhem, and high-stakes drama... Thanks to this skillful salvage operation, we can now see [Griesinger] for who he really was.

—— Malcolm Forbes , American Interest

An interesting look into how people remember the past, how countries remember the past... This is a welcome addition to German twentieth-century history.

—— Kevin Winter , Seattle Book Review

Both an historical detective story and a gripping account of one historian's hunt for answers, The SS Officer's Armchair is at once a unique addition to our understanding of Nazi Germany and a chilling reminder of how such regimes are made not by monsters, but by ordinary people.

—— Gingerbread House

A fascinating tale.

—— Swapan Dasgupta , Open the Magazine

Fully sourced and well-written... [Lee] painstakingly deals with the legacy of the war and its impact on Griesinger's descendants... poignant... The historian's discoveries cause him to re-examine his own perspective of the Holocaust, and to consider his own history.

—— Jeanette R Rosenberg OBE , Who Do You Think You Are?

This book weaves all these threads into a compelling narrative. Reality trumps fiction on every page.

—— Francis Ghiles , ES Global
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