Peter Hitchens: The abolition of Britain

Quartet Books, $32.95

Review: Gilbert Wong

Hitchens writes for the Daily Express, where, he explains, his reportage led to the origins of his disquiet.

He is a fierce opponent of Tony Blair and this book is about what Hitchens calls a "slow-motion" coup d'etat that has transformed British society.

He argues persuasively against the new meritocracy that rewards celebrity and media power over class and education; he finds Blair's talk of the Third Way slippery and vague and accuses Blair of moving towards unelected republicanism, creating the tag First Lady for Cherie.

He hates the things he sees in modern Britain: the acceptable use of foul language; the decline of religion and the rise of pornography. He praises freedom, order and nationalism.

This is a rant, but it is also much more.