Writer Rob Young has previously earned critical bouquets for his books on music, such as Electric Eden, his book about British folk rock, and All Gates Open, his biography of Can. Now he's turned his attention to a golden age of British TV and film.
The Magic Box (subtitle: Viewing Britain through the Rectangular Window) looks back at the period from between the late '50s and the late '80s: from Quatermass and Tom Jones to The Wicker Man and Brideshead Revisited, from A Canterbury Tale and The Go-Between to Bagpuss and Children Of The Stones, and from John Betjeman's travelogues to the BBCs Ghost Stories For Christmas. Along the way, Young seeks to document how the films and TV series of this period "dramatised the fractures and injustices in society", and what they reveal about the nature and character of Britain.
A paperback edition of The Magic Box is being released on 18 August. Thanks to Faber & Faber, we have 10 copies to give away. To put your name in the hat for the chance to win one, simply answer the question below.
