An Utterly Exasperated History of Modern Britain

John O'Farrell came to public prominence as one of the droll middle-aged vox-poppers on Grumpy Old Men. Having enjoyed the show, and O'Farrell's contribution in particular, it was with great anticipation I got hold of a copy of his An Utterly Exasperated History of Modern Britain or 60 Years of Making the Same Stupid Mistakes. As the title may suggest, this is an irreverent look at the events that have shaped British life over the last sixty years. The book is littered with O'Farrell's brand of humour and imagined flights of fantasy. That is not to say that the research undertaken by O'Farrell is by any means lightweight – despite the levity, this book can stand on its own as a chronicle of the postwar years to date.

O'Farrell is an honest writer – he makes no apologies for his socialism but actually treads a neutral path with all parties suffering from his biting satire. Harold Wilson comes in for some heavy criticism, suggesting that his first term in office was bedevilled with insecurities whilst his second was an exercise in soft pedaling towards retirement. Tony Blair comes over much better despite his legacy of leading the country into a barely legal war; his brokerage of the Good Friday Agreement being foregrounded although Blair's own involvement may not have been instrumental to its success.

Disappointingly, the humour tales off from the 1980s onwards. Either O'Farrell ran out of ideas, or considered the era unworthy of fun. In addition, the title of the book comes over as somewhat misleading. The tag “Or Sixties Years of Making the Same Stupid Mistakes as Always” is a misnomer – there is no analysis or attempt to link these “same stupid mistakes” which is akin to getting your school essay back with “Nice answer, but you didn't really answer the question”.