IN 2001 Andrew Anthony was 39 a successful Observer and Guardian journalist who had just become a father. He was perfectly poised to settle into English middle-class middle-age life. A signed up member of the liberal left, he'd even spent time supporting the Sandinistas in Nicaragua inthe 80s. There were assumpitons that, like wallet and keys, he never left the house without- the greatest menace to world security was America; crime was a function of poverty; Israel was the source of all the troubles in the Middle East. From one of the country's finest journalists, this a major book about broken dreams, darkened illusions and big questions that no longer match their received answers. This is a controversial and humane reality check - an invitation to wake up and smell the cordite.

Author Biography

Andrew Anthony is a feature writer and investigative journalist. He has written for the Observer for 10 years, and also writes for the Guardian, Vogue and the Saturday telegraph. His features cover a wide range of subjects- politics, crime, sport, literature, TV and popular culture.