Whatever happened to middle England? Two of our funniest writers set out on a journey through conservative country – with hilarious results.The Women's Institute. Polo matches. The Duke of Edinburgh. Nimbys, shooting and game fairs. Pall Mall clubs, the Countryside Alliance and Boris Johnson. Hampshire Police’s brass band, the rubber chicken circuit – and of course the Conservative party itself.Middle England, with all the social rituals, institutions and traditions that hold it together, has lasted for a long time. And Chris Horrie and David Matthews, two left-leaning journalists – Chris is from Manchester and David's parents are from Guyana – are fascinated by it.So off they go, armed with two ballpoints and a sharp sense of humour, to see what they can see. Sometimes, it’s as simple as hanging out at the proms, munching scones with the vicar at a village cricket match, or chatting with Michael Howard. And other times, a bit more guile is needed – so Chris and David baffle Conservative party members by helping out with their campaigns.With backgrounds as investigative reporters, the authors infiltrate Middle England and capture its denizens at their least guarded. What they find is at times cheering, and sometimes a bit worrying – but it is always very entertaining.True Blue is Bill Bryson meets Spitting Image – and a must-read for fans of John O’Farrell, Private Eye and Jon Ronson.

Whatever happened to middle England? Two of our funniest writers set out on a journey through conservative country – with hilarious results.The Women's Institute. Polo matches. The Duke of Edinburgh. Nimbys, shooting and game fairs. Pall Mall clubs, the Countryside Alliance and Boris Johnson. Hampshire Police’s brass band, the rubber chicken circuit - and of course the Conservative party itself.Middle England, with all the social rituals, institutions and traditions that hold it together, has lasted for a long time. And Chris Horrie and David Matthews, two left-leaning journalists - Chris is from Manchester and David's parents are from Guyana - are fascinated by it.So off they go, armed with two ballpoints and a sharp sense of humour, to see what they can see. Sometimes, it’s as simple as hanging out at the proms, munching scones with the vicar at a village cricket match, or chatting with Michael Howard. And other times, a bit more guile is needed - so Chris and David baffle Conservative party members by helping out with their campaigns.With backgrounds as investigative reporters, the authors infiltrate Middle England and capture its denizens at their least guarded. What they find is at times cheering, and sometimes a bit worrying - but it is always very entertaining.True Blue is Bill Bryson meets Spitting Image - and a must-read for fans of John O’Farrell, Private Eye and Jon Ronson.

Newly updated to 2012 and the Leveson Inquiry, Stick It Up Your Punter! is the classic story of the Sun newspaper, its part in the rise of Rupert Murdoch's business empire, and the extraordinary role it came to play in British society and politics. From Murdoch's purchase and rebranding of the old loss-making Sun in 1969, through the soaraway-successful and often scandalous years of success under foul-mouthed editor Kelvin MacKenzie, to the 'phone-hacking' disgrace of 2012 which put Murdoch's business affairs under scrutiny as never before - this is the story of the paper that, for better or worse, redefined 'tabloid journalism'.'[This] anarchic account... could be a script for Carry On Up Fleet Street.' Alan Rusbridger, Guardian'The funniest book of the year, perhaps of the decade.' Times'Splendidly racy.' Economist'A story which social and political historians of the 20th century will not find easy to ignore.' London Review of Books

Whatever happened to middle England? Two of our funniest writers set out on a journey through conservative country – with hilarious results.The Women's Institute. Polo matches. The Duke of Edinburgh. Nimbys, shooting and game fairs. Pall Mall clubs, the Countryside Alliance and Boris Johnson. Hampshire Police’s brass band, the rubber chicken circuit – and of course the Conservative party itself.Middle England, with all the social rituals, institutions and traditions that hold it together, has lasted for a long time. And Chris Horrie and David Matthews, two left-leaning journalists – Chris is from Manchester and David's parents are from Guyana – are fascinated by it.So off they go, armed with two ballpoints and a sharp sense of humour, to see what they can see. Sometimes, it’s as simple as hanging out at the proms, munching scones with the vicar at a village cricket match, or chatting with Michael Howard. And other times, a bit more guile is needed – so Chris and David baffle Conservative party members by helping out with their campaigns.With backgrounds as investigative reporters, the authors infiltrate Middle England and capture its denizens at their least guarded. What they find is at times cheering, and sometimes a bit worrying – but it is always very entertaining.True Blue is Bill Bryson meets Spitting Image – and a must-read for fans of John O’Farrell, Private Eye and Jon Ronson.

Whatever happened to middle England? Two of our funniest writers set out on a journey through conservative country – with hilarious results.The Women's Institute. Polo matches. The Duke of Edinburgh. Nimbys, shooting and game fairs. Pall Mall clubs, the Countryside Alliance and Boris Johnson. Hampshire Police’s brass band, the rubber chicken circuit - and of course the Conservative party itself.Middle England, with all the social rituals, institutions and traditions that hold it together, has lasted for a long time. And Chris Horrie and David Matthews, two left-leaning journalists - Chris is from Manchester and David's parents are from Guyana - are fascinated by it.So off they go, armed with two ballpoints and a sharp sense of humour, to see what they can see. Sometimes, it’s as simple as hanging out at the proms, munching scones with the vicar at a village cricket match, or chatting with Michael Howard. And other times, a bit more guile is needed - so Chris and David baffle Conservative party members by helping out with their campaigns.With backgrounds as investigative reporters, the authors infiltrate Middle England and capture its denizens at their least guarded. What they find is at times cheering, and sometimes a bit worrying - but it is always very entertaining.True Blue is Bill Bryson meets Spitting Image - and a must-read for fans of John O’Farrell, Private Eye and Jon Ronson.

Newly updated to 2012 and the Leveson Inquiry, Stick It Up Your Punter! is the classic story of the Sun newspaper, its part in the rise of Rupert Murdoch's business empire, and the extraordinary role it came to play in British society and politics. From Murdoch's purchase and rebranding of the old loss-making Sun in 1969, through the soaraway-successful and often scandalous years of success under foul-mouthed editor Kelvin MacKenzie, to the 'phone-hacking' disgrace of 2012 which put Murdoch's business affairs under scrutiny as never before - this is the story of the paper that, for better or worse, redefined 'tabloid journalism'.'[This] anarchic account... could be a script for Carry On Up Fleet Street.' Alan Rusbridger, Guardian'The funniest book of the year, perhaps of the decade.' Times'Splendidly racy.' Economist'A story which social and political historians of the 20th century will not find easy to ignore.' London Review of Books