The Atlantic Ocean: Essays on Britain and America
Andrew O'Hagan
The Atlantic Ocean: Essays on Britain and America
As he grew up, Andrew O'Hagan witnessed the decline of Britain and the rise of America, the end of British industry and the rise of Blair and the tabloids. This collection of essays tells the story of that period in our cultural and political life. Through the reported essays that first made O'Hagan's name, it's a book filled both with personal story and the power of documentary witness. Opening with a major personal piece examining the journey of Britain and America since the closing of the Thatcher years, it concludes with a piece of reportage telling the story of a British and an American soldier who died in Iraq on the same day in 2006.
4.0 out of 5 based on 3 reviews
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Omniscore:
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| Classification |
Non-fiction |
| Genre |
Society, Politics & Philosophy, Biography, Essays, Journals & Letters |
| Format |
Hardback |
| Pages |
384 |
| RRP |
£20.00 |
| Date of Publication |
June 2008 |
| ISBN |
978-0571238859 |
| Publisher |
Faber & Faber |
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As he grew up, Andrew O'Hagan witnessed the decline of Britain and the rise of America, the end of British industry and the rise of Blair and the tabloids. This collection of essays tells the story of that period in our cultural and political life. Through the reported essays that first made O'Hagan's name, it's a book filled both with personal story and the power of documentary witness. Opening with a major personal piece examining the journey of Britain and America since the closing of the Thatcher years, it concludes with a piece of reportage telling the story of a British and an American soldier who died in Iraq on the same day in 2006.
Reviews
The Observer
Peter Conrad
“O'Hagan demonstrates that fiction can compel us to redefine reality, as when hurricane Katrina, tossing hotels and casinos through the air and wrapping chandeliers in Spanish moss, transforms the grotesque fantasies of Southern Gothic into 'a form of social realism'. Lies dribble from the slack mouths of politicians; if we want to know the truth about the false world we live in, we need to consult the writers of fiction.”
15/04/2009
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The Financial Times
John Gapper
“ O’Hagan at his best is a memorable writer with an exact turn of phrase...The author is also a tireless reporter. But – and this is indeed a big but – the resulting work has problems or, as American parlance would put it, issues... One is that the title is a sleight of hand. A better sub-title might have been “Essays on Britain and Essays on America, with one Essay on the Atlantic Ocean.” Another issue is that while O’Hagan knows Scottish and English culture intimately, he is merely an observant visitor to the US. ... It is when he talks about his own childhood experiences as a minor thug or describes Otto Kretchmer, the German submarine captain who killed his grandfather, that he is most convincing. The less instinctive his grasp of the material, the more O’Hagan tends to over-write to compensate and the more he comes across as an affected intellectual.”
15/04/2009
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