{"product_id":"great-british-dream-factory","title":"Great British Dream Factory","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e''Delightfully good ... an exuberant and learned celebration of British culture ... full of love for and fascination with everything from the origins of heavy metal in the metal-bashing industries of the West Midlands to John Lennon''s and Damien Hirst''s lust for money'' Nick Cohen, \u003ci\u003eObserver\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e''Terrific ... I defy you not to be swept up in a narrative that''s as colourful as it is dramatic'' - John Preston, \u003ci\u003eMail on Sunday\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e''Dramatic, perceptive and often extremely funny'' \u003ci\u003eSpectator\u003c\/i\u003e, Books of the Year\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBritain''s empire has gone. We no longer matter as we once did. And yet there is still one area in which we can legitimately claim superpower status: our popular culture. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt is extraordinary to think that one British writer, J. K. Rowling, has sold more than 400 million books; that \u003ci\u003eDoctor Who\u003c\/i\u003e is watched in almost every developed country in the world; that James Bond has been the central character in the longest-running film series in history; that \u003ci\u003eThe Lord of the Rings\u003c\/i\u003e is the second best-selling novel ever written (behind only \u003ci\u003eA Tale of Two Cities\u003c\/i\u003e); that the Beatles are still the best-selling musical group of all time; and that only Shakespeare and the Bible have sold more books than Agatha Christie. To put it simply, no country on earth, relative to its size, has contributed more to the modern imagination.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis is a book about the success and the meaning of Britain''s modern popular culture, from Bond and the Beatles to Catherine Cookson and \u003ci\u003eCoronation Street\u003c\/i\u003e, from Harry Potter, heavy metal and Kate Bush to Damien Hirst, \u003ci\u003eDownton Abbey\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eGrand Theft Auto\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDominic Sandbrook''s superbly rich, entertaining and thought-provoking book makes it clear that \u003ci\u003eThe Great British Dream Factory \u003c\/i\u003eis a very strange and wonderful place indeed.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"MediaPlace","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57319565820286,"sku":"NW9780141979304","price":14.02,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1379\/1261\/files\/9780141979304.jpg?v=1778689818","url":"https:\/\/mediaplace.com\/products\/great-british-dream-factory","provider":"MediaPlace","version":"1.0","type":"link"}