STEVEN ANDREW is moved beyond words by a historical account of mining in Britain made from the words of the miners themselves
All Together Now?
by Mike Carter
(Guardian Faber, £14.99)
MIKE CARTER is the son of Pete Carter, former militant building worker and Communist Party industrial organiser, who was responsible for the 1981 People’s March for Jobs from Liverpool to London.
Carter had been alienated from his father and refused to join the march, despite the latter’s pleading, and to find closure in his troubled relationship but also as a means to explore what has happened to England in the meantime he decided to complete the march route himself.
In lucid prose, he describes what he discovers on his solo journey — the people he meets and the history of the places he passes through. It’s one of the best books I’ve read about how our country has changed since Thatcher, what devastation has been caused to traditional communities and industries.

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