Tales of an ‘obsolescent’ city
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Wetherell’s thesis is that Liverpool is a barometer for Britain as a whole, that the city that grew phenomenally thanks to the Industrial Revolution has been on a long downward spiral until 2008, which is when the book ends. Along the way, Wetherell explores some of the smaller communities that make up the greater conglomeration: the migrants, the workers, the criminals. But this is not a comprehensive city history—for what book could possibly cover the whole history of any place?—and perhaps to expect that isn’t the point.

The point that Wetherell wants to make is that academic history could just as easily be a history of the things that go wrong, an account of decline and rot and disorder, and that Liverpool has seen its fair share of all these things. Wetherell is interested in the concept of obsolescence, in using it as a lens to explore modern history, not as a reflection of some unrealistic golden Empire, but as a function of a place and its times, its people and their actions. Whether it’s an approach with legs or not, I couldn’t say from this. It’s certainly a unique take and might be better illuminated with contrasts and comparisons with other cities, in Britain and elsewhere, to understand the unique outcomes of Liverpool.

'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

Regular readers will know I am a Liverpudlian. And I will regularly consume any book on it and enjoy the bizarre process of reading about your own history. This is a grand book with an overarching concept of how a city rose and fell, rose again and still might fall into the sea.

The book runs from 1945 to 2008 and amongst the disasters such as Hillborough, there is Toxteth, the rise of Militant - a group who literally ran the city into the ground, whilst profiting others - and it’s time as Capital Of Culture, overlapping with The Credit Crunch.

And yes, the more unpalatable aspects of the city’s past such as the slave trade, the mass deportations of Chinese sailors after the Second World War, the racism that leads to Toxteth… but also on civic kindness such as the long-standing LGBTQ community during the early years of AIDS (gay dismissed as a ‘bourgeois concept’ by Militant and the pioneering treatment of drug users. It ends on a mirroring note, with roughly the same amount of people employed in tourism as the docks at its height. Speke could have been Disneyland, literally. And Liverpool Waters will be a city within a city at the end of this century, but may only last a generation before climate change erases both from history.

This is not to say it is a depressing read, it is a comprehensive, energising book. The best books on Liverpool (A Game Of Birds And Wolves, Wondrous Place, There She Goes) have a narrow focus and do it well. This, is probably the first to take a panoramic view as broad as The Mersey and succeed. It is published on February 27th by Head Of Zeus and I thank them for a preview copy. #liverpoolandrheunmakingofbritain

Liverpool and the Unmaking of Britain is an ambitious attempt both to describe the history of Liverpool since WW2 and trace its representativeness of Britain's decline during this period. It is full of fascinating and often disturbing detail about the neglect of the city by most politicians, the destruction of its industry, poverty, and the racism experienced by many of its minority ethic inhabitants. What is missing for me is more exploration of the city's culture, which encroaches occasionally largely through The Beatles and Liverpool FC (in relation to Hillsborough mainly), although this would perhaps have made the book too unwieldy. Read it though if you're at all interested in Liverpool and its history. Extra points to Wethterell too for not referring to the Catholic cathedral by its nickname.

A history of modern Liverpool from the end of the second world war to the present. Sam Wetherell concentrates on the downfall of Liverpool during this time period. Whilst Liverpool has many similarities to other towns and cities, particularly in the north of England, it also has several unique features that set it apart from the others. This book looks specifically at the negative aspects of Liverpool's history.
There were a few points in the book that I found interesting but overall, I found this book to be very disappointing. The narrative was unsympathetic and at times aggressive and there were a few inaccuracies in the text. The emphasis on only small parts of the community gave a skewed picture of Liverpool and ignored so much. The doom and gloom of the book totally overlooked the positive aspects of the city. Liverpool is alive and kicking!

Liverpool has always had a place in my heart, partly due to its rich history. This gave an excellent detailed overview into the good and bad of the city's development and how complex austerity and politics can be when building a city and its people.

Very interesting book, as someone who ancestors travelled from Ireland to Liverpool and who grandad grew up in Liverpool
I've always had soft spot for city and reading this book made me realise how important Liverpool is to many.