I spent the last couple of days reading this. Judging by some of the reviews (and some of the publicity endorsements) it has the misconception of being a lighthearted, funny book in the vein of Bill Bryson. Instead, we get a more serious, journalistic look at some of the hallmarks of English Brits—at least of a certain segment and a certain time period. When the book was originally written about fifteen years ago, Lyall remarked in the final chapters that changes were already taking place. I wonder what observations such a book written today would have.