Mike Carter Bücher

When Mike Carter's father died, he decided to follow the route of a march against unemployment his dad had organised 35 years before. Mike had a troubled relationship with his dad, and hoped the walk, undertaken a month before the Brexit vote, would allow him to understand his father and his country better. What Mike discovered was a working class that had been betrayed by successive governments since 1979, their livelihoods destroyed, their communities hollowed out. He found anger, despair and humiliation. He found that not only had the English working class been stripped of its purpose with the loss of industry, but that what has followed - austerity, the expansion of higher education, the investment in the south-east - seems driven by an ideology that has only contempt for the working classes, now unnecessary and burdensome. As the walk unfolded, Mike also discovered that he and his dad shared more in common than he might have thought. They both left their Birmingham roots in the Thatcher years, they both turned their backs on their class and their culture, and they both tried to find their way home. This is a book about belonging, about whether to stay or to go, and the consequences for a country, and individuals, when a ruling class decides that being working class is something to be ashamed of.

What would happen if you were cycling to the office and just kept on pedalling? Needing a change, Mike Carter did just that. Following the Thames to the sea he embarked on an epic 5,000 mile ride around the entire British coastline - the equivalent of London to Calcutta. He encountered drunken priests, drag queens and gnome sanctuaries. He met fellow travellers and people building for a different type of future. He also found a spirit of unbelievable kindness and generosity that convinced him that Britain is anything but broken. This is the inspiring and very funny tale of the five months Mike spent cycling the byways of the nation.

Set in a post-apocalyptic world, the story follows characters who must navigate the harsh realities of survival after being transformed by mysterious vats in Gweth. As they adapt to their new forms, they face both external dangers from the wasteland and internal struggles with their identities. Themes of resilience and the quest for belonging are explored as they confront the challenges of their environment and the implications of their transformation.