{"title":"Books by Al Murray","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9781529411850","title":"The Last 100 Years (give or take) and All That","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA fascinating and hilarious gallop through twentieth-century British history, by comedian Al Murray.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAn awful lot has happened in the last 100 years or so. In fact, when you look at how much went on in the 20th century, it's amazing it didn't take longer than that.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnd what have we learnt? A few obvious lessons include: megalomaniac men with moustaches in charge of countries tend to turn out to be BAD; anyone who thinks they can explain let alone sort out the Middle East is WRONG; France simply cannot be relied upon; America may or may not be the cause of everything GOOD and BAD in the world (depending on who you ask).\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis isn't your bog-standard history book. We all know that history books (Which Shall Not be Questioned because they ARE ALL TRUE according to our History Teachers of Yore) are dry and dull, and they go on as if there's only ONE version of history (spoiler: it's all about perspective). Enter Al Murray, alter-ego of everyone's favourite Pub Landlord.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAl knows his way around 20th century Britain, and he's good enough to illuminate it for you. From the Big Bang of the 20th Century, DOUBLEYOUDOUBLEYOU ONE, to the eve of the new Millennium (when all the computers in the World DIDN'T stop working and the Queen had to do the Hokey Cokey with Tony Blair) and all the forgotten tales in between, this is a brilliantly funny, irreverent and eye-opening whistle-stop tour of Britain since 1914.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43204682711218,"sku":"9781529411850","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781529411850_03f18c71-48f8-432a-aa2a-9c179e9d0bad.jpg?v=1786023371"},{"product_id":"9780340952184","title":"Al Murray: The Pub Landlord's Book of British Common Sense","description":"We live in an age of waffle, mumbo-jumbo and bad thinking. We're forever being fed dodgy information by so-called experts, scientists, opinion-makers, politicians, journalists and jumped-up little graduates. Their combined bad thinking includes: *the idea that no one should win in running races at school, in case the losers get upset*the idea that owning a house in France is a decent way to spend your money *the idea that we should all talk about our feelings and that would make things better*speed cameras*mineral water*hummus*and the fact that everyone reckons they've got asthma. Why do we believe this nonsense? Because, as a nation we've forgotten the basic elements of common sense. Thank God then for Al Murray. Together with the collecting thoughts of hia locals, he's here to put good old-fashioned British common sense back where it belongs.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56286675272053,"sku":"9780340952184","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780340952184_eb87e23f-11a5-4bc4-9341-5ef2d15c8854.jpg?v=1786013665"},{"product_id":"9781804995457","title":"Arnhem: Black Tuesday","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eDiscover the \u003ci\u003eSunday Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestseller and incredible true story behind the most catastrophic 24-hours the British military faced in World War II from the bestselling author.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e‘Utterly brilliant... this book really is the last word on the Battle of Arnhem’ \u003c\/b\u003eJames Holland\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e’Superb... A military historian of originality and insight to compare with the best’\u003c\/b\u003e Saul David\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Battle of Arnhem is one of the best-known stories in British military history: a daring but doomed attempt to secure a vital bridgehead across the Rhine in order to end the war before Christmas 1944.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt is always written about, with the benefit of unerring 20\/20 hindsight, as being destined to fail, but the men who fought there, men of military legend, didn't know that that was to be their fate.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNow, in \u003ci\u003eArnhem: Black Tuesday\u003c\/i\u003e, Al Murray focuses on the events of one day as they happened through the eyes of the British participants, without bringing any knowledge of what would happen tomorrow to bear, offering a very different perspective on a familiar narrative.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSome things went right and a great many more went wrong, but recounting them in this way allows the reader to understand for the first time how certain decisions were taken in the moment and how opportunities were squandered.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAl Murray has always been obsessed by this legendary battle, and in Arnhem: Black Tuesday he showcases all of his knowledge, interpretation and enthusiasm to bear to tell the story of one of history’s great heroic failures differently for the first time.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eArnhem: Black Tuesday:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘Original and insightful’\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ci\u003eTelegraph\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'A revelation.. This is Arnhem unplugged. By confining himself to men in and around Arnhem on that Tuesday, Murray achieves something special'\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ci\u003eThe Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56307449364853,"sku":"9781804995457","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781804995457_3cb516ec-eb89-413e-8044-58d4bc0d1a77.jpg?v=1786028499"},{"product_id":"9781472284631","title":"Command","description":"\u003cp\u003eAl Murray's passion for military history and the Second World War in particular has always run parallel with his comedy and was brought to the fore with several acclaimed and award-winning television shows and the recent huge success of his podcast \u003ci\u003eWe Have Ways of Making You Talk\u003c\/i\u003e which he hosts with fellow bestselling military author James Holland. In his first serious narrative book, \u003ci\u003eCommand\u003c\/i\u003e showcases Al Murray's passion for this pivotal period in the twentieth century, as he writes an engaging, entertaining and sharp analysis of the key allied military leaders in the conflict.  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eCommand \u003c\/i\u003ehighlights the performance and careers of some of the leading protagonists who commanded armies, as well as the lesser-known officers who led divisions, regiments and even battalions for the British, Commonwealth and United States of American armies. By showcasing each combat commander across every major theatre of operations the allies fought in, Murray tells the story of how the Western Allies rebounded from early shocking defeats (Dunkirk and Pearl Harbor) to then victories (El Alamein and D-Day) in its efforts to defeat the Axis forces of Nazi Germany and Japan, and what that tells us about the characters and the challenges that faced them. \u003ci\u003eCommand \u003c\/i\u003eis the book for all fans of Second World War History who appreciate a true enthusiast of the genre with something new and compelling to say.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56312436654453,"sku":"9781472284631","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781472284631_45f4e487-ab56-4d7d-b534-e1d6d81e09b1.jpg?v=1786020697"},{"product_id":"9781804997390","title":"Victory '45","description":"\u003cp\u003eBestselling historians James Holland and Al Murray tell the unflinching story of the eight surrenders that brought victory to the Allies and ended the Second World War.   ‘A gripping, eye-opening and satisfying new account’ The Express\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom the Italian Alps to northern Germany, to London, New York, Washington and Tokyo, Victory ’45 tells the story of the extraordinary summer when the greatest conflagration the world had ever known finally came to an end after eight surrenders that heralded the Allied victory.   Comprised of eight chapters based around each of those surrenders and the victory celebrations which followed, it will be rich in character and human drama with revealing stories and perspectives behind the end of the war not yet told before. Each chapter will follow the viewpoints of a number of key characters as they traverse these world-changing events – from ordinary servicemen and women and civilians to generals and political leaders.   What took place during the negotiations of those surrenders and the terms that were agreed there would determine the directions the participating countries would take in the years that followed and ultimately the shape of our current world.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56369226252661,"sku":"9781804997390","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781804997390_5aaed16b-7378-4f23-a393-6b56a7809f0d.jpg?v=1786027784"},{"product_id":"watching-war-films-with-my-dad","title":"Watching War Films With My Dad","description":"\u003cp\u003eAl Murray's (AKA The Pub Landlord) musing on his childhood where his fascination with history and all things war began.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHave you ever watched a film with someone who, at the most dramatic scene, argues that the plane on screen hasn't been invented yet? Or that the tank rumbling towards the hero at the end of the film is the wrong tank altogether? \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAl Murray is that someone. Try as he might, he can’t help himself. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eGrowing up in the 1970s, Al, with the help of his dad, became fascinated with the history of World War Two. They didn’t go to football; they went to battlefields. Because like so many of his generation whose childhood was all about Airfix, Action Man and Where Eagles Dare, he grew up in the cultural wake of the Second World War. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePart memoir, part life obsession, this is Al Murray musing on what he knows best. And he’s sure to tell you things about history that you were never taught at school.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57466543833461,"sku":"9780099580348","price":15.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780099580348.jpg?v=1785654601"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-al-murray.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}