Think Yourself British by Al Murray

read by Al Murray

Full of the wisdom and wit of Britain's favourite pub landlord, Think Yourself British is a wonderful introduction to the author's guiding principle of 'Helping Yourself'.

This is, ideally, a Christmas postprandial indulgence: one for those, perhaps, of a somewhat laddish persuasion. Doubtless some of the pub landlord's own amber nectar will enhance its surprises and delights.

Complete with soothing, quasi-hypnotic melodic introductions, Helping Yourself is very much in the style of American self-help tapes (now, of course, downloads for the iPod). If I were the Commissioning Editor of publisher Hodder & Stoughton's long-running Teach Yourself imprint, I would recommend cutting any reprints for the foreseeable future as Mr Murray covers a veritable encyclopaedia of wisdom in his Helping Yourself series.

Following a brief but essential biographical sketch, your not so humble host shares with us his insights into, amongst many other things, psychiatry, medicine, dating, warfare (and the vexed question of the naming of wars), eating, exercise and well-being. His answer to debt is to burn down the pub and claim the insurance, as many times as possible, collecting life insurance on the way. This can be slightly risky since you have to attend your own funeral in disguise and your widow might already have pocketed the insurance and planned to open a hostelry with her French teacher.

Just for good measure, Al provides an invaluable guide to mirth, and is very edifying on American terms and phrases.

The strapline to Helping Yourself is that 'low expectations lead to success'. Very sage.

Sure to be a success.

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