Us and Them: Or Why America Is Like England, Why England Is Like America and How They Got That Way Concise 1987 overview of how US & UK became so alike law, language, media, class, daily life

Cobb, Kevin

ISBN 10: 087833565X / ISBN 13: 9780878335657

Published by Dallas, Taylor Publishing, Texas, 1987

About this Item

A brisk comparative portrait of the U.S. and the U.K., this 1987 study pares away clichés to show how law, language, institutions, class, media, and everyday habits on each side of the Atlantic mirror and reshape one another. No Flaws or Blemishes but minimal shelf handling; The bindings are tight and square. Text is clean. 8 inches tall; 4-136 [4] pages. Fully illustrated. Written for general readers, it frames the "special relationship" as lived culture as much as high politics, sketching how parallel histories and cross-pollination made the two countries feel so alike despite their differences. Subjects: United States & Great Britain cultural parallels; Institutions and social customs; Language and media; Late-20th-century transatlantic identity; Comparative cultural history; Anglo-American studies.

Seller Inventory # 21110

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Us and Them: Or Why America Is Like England, Why England Is Like America and How They Got That Way Concise 1987 overview of how US & UK became so alike law, language, media, class, daily life
• Publisher: Dallas, Taylor Publishing, Texas
• Publication Date: 1987
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 087833565X
• ISBN 13: 9780878335657
• Binding: Soft cover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: No Dust Jacket, As Issued
• Seller catalogs:
  • HISTORY

About this title

Synopsis

Offers a humorous look at the differences between England and the U.S. in terms of food, education, crime, marriage, language, secrecy, politics, social life, and business

Reviews

In this comparison of British and American culture written by an American, the author's "narrative stance is mid-Atlantic," as he puts it. He covers such topics as "Elvises" (Presley and Costello), George Plimpton ("a pseudo-Englishman"), rock 'n' roll ("one of the few things Americans can legitimately claim to have given the British"), "Oxbridge" vs. Harvard and Yale, and cricket contrasted with baseball ("The games are as mysterious as the countries they represent"). Americans and Britons, Cobb argues, are "members of the same family," and he often takes note of aspects of American life derived from the Mother Country, such as the cop's nightstick, a descendant of "the bobby's truncheon." Other topics: slang, television, theme parks, food, pets, pubs and bars, prep vs. public schools, royalty, money, tea, sex and mass murderers. Cobb's lively writing style is embellished with equally entertaining graphicsmany photos and the works of artists have been combined in a clever montage that illustrates cultural contrasts.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.