Liverpool and the Unmaking of Britain by Sam Wetherell

‘This book is about Liverpool‘s past and what it might tell us about Britain’s future’. Wetherell argues that Liverpool’s history is a prophecy. I know the history of Liverpool very well and was hoping to read it from a different perspective. This sounds Interesting.

The theme of this book is immediately evident: how Liverpool became obsolete. The word ‘obsolescence’ runs throughout and by the time I had finished reading the Prelude I was totally depressed. It explains how the docks became obsolete when the war was over and later, when  containers became the method of transporting goods and the amount of dockworkers who lost their jobs became obsolete too. Lengthy and detailed accounts of the Toxteth Riots in 1981, the city’s involvement in the slave trade and the poor treatment of those who came from the colonies to work. ‘The history that this book describes might be coming for us all.’ All grim stuff.

Modern Liverpool now, the author claims, employs the same number of people in the tourist industry as it did in the port and docks. But here there is some cynicism, for example, the Tate Art Gallery, which is homed in the regenerated dockland storage buildings, has its modern art exhibitions ridiculed somewhat. The art and exhibitions should be celebrated, surely?

The book is well sourced and the footnotes make up nearly half of the text.  The aspects of the city’s history chosen are a tad unbalanced and a comparison to what was happening in other British cities may have helped give the events more context. There is an overload of negative events while the impact of the wonderful music and football from the sixties through to the present day is only mentioned in passing.

Fascinating premise and a warning not to make people or places obsolete.