The Gift of a Radio: My Childhood and other Train Wrecks (Hardback) - Justin Webb
Enter your postcode and we'll provide you with your delivery & collection options.
- Free Delivery on orders over £50*
- Free Same Day Click & Collect
- Delivery: In stock
Shop more...
A story of a childhood defined by loneliness, the absence of a father and the grim experience of a Quaker boarding school. But with gun-wielding school masters and sub-standard living conditions, Quaker boarding school wasn't much better.
'Searingly honest... gripping... fascinating and hugely entertaining.' Sunday Times
'Justin is a great broadcaster because he sounds like a real human being. This hugely entertaining book helps explain why'. John Humphrys
'Moving and frank ... A story of a childhood defined by loneliness, the absence of a father and the grim experience of a Quaker boarding school. It is also one of the most perceptive accounts of Britain in the 1970s.' Misha Glenny
..................................
Justin Webb's childhood was far from ordinary.
Between his mother's un-diagnosed psychological problems, and his step-father's untreated ones, life at home was dysfunctional at best. But with gun-wielding school masters and sub-standard living conditions, Quaker boarding school wasn't much better.
And the backdrop to this coming of age story? Britain in the 1970s. Led Zeppelin, Janis Joplin and Free. Strikes, inflation and IRA bombings. A time in which attitudes towards mental illness, parenting and masculinity were worlds apart from the attitudes we have today. A society that believed itself to be close to the edge of breakdown.
Candid, unsparing and darkly funny, Justin Webb's memoir is a portrait of personal and national dysfunction. So was it the brutal experiences of his upbringing, or an innate ambition and drive that somehow survived them, that shaped the urbane and successful radio presenter we know and love now?
About the Author
JUSTIN WEBB is the longest serving presenter of BBC Radio 4's flagship news and current affairs programme 'Today.' For the best part of four decades, he has been a voice on the airwaves or a presence on our TV screens. He joined the BBC in 1984 as a trainee, and has reported from around the world, as a war correspondent in the Gulf and in Bosnia, on the break-up of the former Soviet Union and the first democratic elections in South Africa. He was Europe Correspondent when the Euro was introduced, and for eight years he was the chief correspondent in Washington DC. Among his awards is Political Journalist of the Year, which he won for his coverage of the Obama presidential campaign. He's a regular columnist in The Times and for the Unherd website. He lives with his family in South London.
- Contributor:
- Justin Webb
- Imprint:
- Doubleday
- Publisher:
- Transworld Publishers Ltd
- Release Date:
- 10 Feb 2022
- Number of Pages:
- 256
- Binding:
- Hardback
- ISBN13:
- 9780857527721
Delivery
Options to suit you
At Jarrolds we want to ensure you get your order in the most convenient way for you, so we offer..
- Free standard delivery on most orders over £50*
- Express and Nominated options from £5.95*
- Free click and collect from our stores for many items
Help & Advice
Need extra help?
We're always happy to answer any questions or queries you might have, please get in touch using one of the methods below.
- Live chat
Monday to Friday (between 9.00am - 5.30pm) - Call us - 01603 660 661
- Email us here
Returns
How to return a purchase
At Jarrolds we want to ensure you're delighted with your order so if for any reason you are unhappy with your purchase, you can return most items to us in new and unused condition within 30 days of receiving them for a full refund*.