Pies and Prejudice - Stuart Maconie

My last review was for Transpennine Express, and in it I mentioned that it was reading this very book which inspired me to book my trip with said train company from Scotland to Manchester. I then realised some of you may wonder what on earth I was talking about, so it may be helpful to review the book. Stuart Maconie is well known these days as a DJ on Radio 2 and a "talking head" on many TV shows which involve lists, such as the 100 best love songs or whatever idea Channel 4 has to fill the schedule cheaply on a Saturday night. He used to write for the NME and Q magazine and seems to have an encyclopaedic knowledge of music and popular ...  Read the complete review

I should open this review by admitting a bias. I love the North of England, and I ordered this book to learn a little more about the history of the settlements and the culture. The writer clearly also loves the North, although I did find myself chuckling along with his comments on sceptics from the 'Great North' who would disagree with his chosen starting points (Crewe, Manchester, these places are surely the midlands!). He approaches each settlement with flair, and the book is well researched. The author's background within the music industry was clear, and I did find myself at times skipping through pages and pages about the bands that have come from a place or where ...  Read the complete review

This book is a witty tour of the north. You will find yourself laughing out loud as you turn each page, even if you hail from the South of England. Maconie writes so well as he takes you on a tour of the North (And London) explaining the history of the people, the lives they lead and why the North really is an amazing place. Maconie unsurprisingly writes a lot about the North West, the area of the country he hails from. However he does also cover most areas of the North. As he goes further north however you get the impression he is struggling to write about these areas as he doesn't know them as well. There are also large areas that should have had more wrote ...  Read the complete review

Stuart Maconie (one half of the nations greatest broadcasting duo) travels back up to the North of England to revisit his old stamping grounds, visit some legendary sites and experiences an England rarely seen on screen. The North eh? All flat caps, penny pinching Yorkshiremen and driving rain? Poverty, riots, stikes and misery? Not so, says Stuart, who ought to know having visited and explored at length. He travels through Liverpool, Manchester, Oldham and a plethora of other places; always eager to see beyond the cliche. Stuart Maconie's writings are never less than entertaining, be it one of his own books, articles in magazines such as The Word or even the Daily ...  Read the complete review