Notes on Them and Us

Britain and America have a new word to describe their relationship - 'special' has been replaced by 'essential'. Justin Webb would prefer all adjectives to be abandoned in an effort to tell the real story. Notes on Them & Us is a wry account of the transatlantic friendship as it actually exists today - how Americans see us, how we Brits see them - and Justin Webb, presenter on Radio 4's Today programme and formerly the BBC's North American editor for eight years, is perfectly placed to comment. An amusing, myth-breaking, unflinchingly honest read, this is not an attack on either the English or the Americans. Webb concludes that there is a fault line in the long-standing marriage between these two great nations, a cultural divide that separates us. And he argues that recognising this divide, even celebrating it, is the key to a rich future collaboration.