Customer Reviews
Well written, enjoyable and informative - By: TheMightyViton, 12 Aug 2008 
Overall I enjoyed reading this book & as others have said it certainly has inspired me to visit some of the places described. I liked the author's writing style & most of all I found most of the historical detail interesting & educational. However after reading through relatively huge sections on Liverpool, Manchester & Wigan I was disappointed to see places like Sheffield glossed over very briefly - surely Sheffield has more to offer than the time he spent discussing the National Museum of Pop Music?
YES THERE IS A NORTH - SOUTH DIVIDE: WE CAN LAUGH AT OURSELVES AND SOUTHERNERS CAN'T! - By: SDB MELLONIE, 01 Aug 2008 
BRILLIANT READ. OK - if you know the places Stuart writes about (I know the exact chippy he talks about down the road from Crewe station!) it helps but even if you don't & have never ventured north of Chalfont St Witless, it's still a great read. The two one star reviewers from "Darn Sarth" are obviously miffed at the fact that no-one can be bothered to write about "southerners" because, as Maconie points out early onin the book, there is not the strong identification of "being a southerner" as there is for those of us north of..well, according to Stuart it's north of Stoke.
It pokes fun of the north & does ask some tough questions at times but more than anything else, it is a great travelogue. Strike a light, Guv, you can't ask fairer than that....
Love and Hypocrisy : A Lancastrian View of the North - By: Lady of the Lake, 05 Jul 2008 There were pages I skippedin this book out of sheer irritation at his socialist, BBC politics; & others I have marked up to remind me to visit or revisit some of the placesin the North this southern girl loves.
His prejudice against the south is foolish & stereotyped; & his rants against middle class pursuits, whilst so obviously now being middle class himself, is blind hypocrisy. But, I would say it all adds to the charm of the book. If you want to get into the head of a northern working class lad, who became a middle class, southern media type complete with PC bias - then this is an illuminating piece of social historyin its own right.
As a travel guide it is very patchy: it goes into great depth about West Lancashire - but he speeds around much of the northin a matter of pages, completely missing out some very obvious illustrative places like North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire & York. However, when he goes into any depth he does make you want to go & explore the place for yourself - surely the objective of a travel book.
When he talks about your patch you notice the factual mistakes, & by the look of these reviews there are quite a number of them. All a little lax. However, the book has frequent 'laugh out loud' points, so if you treat it as a story a friend might tellin a pub, & not quite get his facts right, then that is really the tone of it. But where I am sure he will be factually correct, & was really rather interesting wasin the musical background of Manchester & Liverpool - obviously a subject he does know.
Allin all, worth a read on the train if you know the North, & can put up with the prejudice - & I think most can for the laugh; & the reminder that the north has a wonderful, rugged beauty that is quite different to the warm, charms of the south.
Nostalgia for Madchester.......... - By: K. Drury, 16 Jun 2008 
I loved this irreverent but nostalgic style of writing, it reminded me of the Manchester I grew up & worked in, & its description of Wilmslow perfectly matched the lunch I had enjoyed on a visit 2 weeks earlier. A great present for anyone who has livedin the NWin particular, although maybe better for those of us who have also lived away. I hadn't even realised some of the traits I share are northern!
A great book, wherever you're from - By: Magic Rat, 11 Jun 2008 Stuart Maconie has written a truly enjoyable book here. Always entertaining, always easy on the eye, Maconie's anecdotes are as insightful as they are wryly amusing. He does not attempt to lay on the comedy. Observations are always comparatively understated yet extremely perceptive being both culturally & chronologically bang on the nail. Maconie's wit is a dry one, yet it is also a friendly one. His descriptions of people are always affectionate & rarely malicious. As a social observer, Maconie is, I believe, as good as they get at the moment.
In this book, he attempts, within the confines of a relatively short book to revisit the places of his youth & other areas of "the North" of England, attempting to see the differences that exist between these areas & the South & indeed, from other areasin the North. He examines people, culture, architechture, & the general feeling of a town. His descriptions of Bury & Liverpool are particularly appealing. I love the story about black pudding consumptionin Bury & its effect on stool samples ! The analysis of the Scouser as a collective personification is as pertinent as it is brutally honest. He stays well clear of self-satisfaction & smugness & is only judgemental when it is called for. It doesn't matter whether you're from the South or the North to be able to enjoy his book, although some experience of travellingin the North would be useful. It helps to be able to nod to oneselfin recognition of much of what Maconie says.
I find Stuart Maconie's writing style eminently readable & appealing. The book flies by and, most importantly,in my opinion, it leaves one with a warm feeling.
