Distilling the Frenzy

Book excerpt: Britain's leading contemporary historian revisits the grand themes that have run through modern Britain, including the abiding trends of the post-war era--Britain's persistent impulse to punch well above its weight in the world and the secrecy that has too often surrounded state affairs. In Distilling the Frenzy a heavyweight of British scholarship lays bear the historian's art for all to see, incorporating elements of autobiography that gives the book a poignancy lacking in other grand historical works. This is the story of Britain's century through the eyes of its most celebrated chronicler. Peter Hennessy is the Attlee professor of contemporary British history at Queen Mary, University of London.