My new paperback ‘The Last Goodbye’ is out February 2016
The Last Goodbye: A History of the world In Resignations is available at all good bookstores from 6th February 2016. A new, updated and expanded ‘reboot’ of F**k You & Goodbye for the mass market, The Last Goodbye brings the tale of human history’s most misunderstood driver bang up to date with revealing…
Doors of the mind: Ghosts and thresholds in Bowie, Dickens, and the Generation Game
I’ve never been able to pass a door in an ancient wall without wondering what’s behind it. I know the truth is overwhelmingly likely to be mundane, but my subconscious mind can’t help picking out the details: the old ivy growth across it; the absence of any mechanism on the outside; the permanent silence…
Napoleon defeated, God dead, confidence up: How one London church reveals our secret history
This is a short story about what really happens to the things we think are permanent and powerful. And how they may not be at all what they seem. In 1818, the British Government announced a bonanza of one million pounds to be spent on celebrating victory over Napoleon. Buildings, events, whatever. But…
Zombies, punks & immigrants: What J.G. Ballard’s ‘High Rise’ says about Britain in 2015
It’s there if you look for it, snaking like mist around the tower blocks of West London, from Acton to Ladbroke Grove. An atmosphere. A message for us, maybe. This part of London was the inspiration and setting for JG Ballard as he wrote his 1975 dystopian novel High Rise. In…
Resignations as historical force: Jurassic Park, grunge, capitalism and the story of the 1990s
There’s a lot of noise about Jurassic World cleaning up in cinemas right now. But what about the real back story? Back in the 1990s, Jurassic Park was – unlikely as it might seem – part of the same global breakdown as grunge and the Berlin Wall. Sound weird? In this short extract…
Review: Why new Ukraine documentary film Maïdan is right to resist the voiceover
I was asked to review Sergei Loznitsa’s 2014 documentary film Maïdan for Radio 4’s Front Row programme earlier this week. You can listen to the review, in the form of a stimulating conversation with presenter Samira Ahmed, here. A year on from the massacre of Maidan protestors by president Viktor Yanukovich’s berkut officers,…
‘F**k You & Goodbye’ is a Waterstone’s Christmas bestseller
Just got this stunning news from the people at Waterstone’s who compile the bestseller lists. F**k You & Goodbye is at No.22 the week before Christmas: Thanks to everyone who’s been so kind about my history of the resignation, and of course everyone who’s bought it. This is the second-best* Christmas present…
Matt Potter’s ‘F**k You & Goodbye’ is Christmas pick for Waterstone’s, Foyles & more
My new book, F**k You & Goodbye: The Dark & Hilarious History of the Resignation, is available to buy now in hardback and ebook, in shops and online. It’s also now been promoted to the recommended Christmas gift buy for Waterstone’s and Foyles, who are offering extra Foyalty points with it…
Rockin’ in the free world: Gorbachev, poppies and the death of Kurt Cobain
If you really want to know about Nirvana – from who killed Kurt Cobain to the rise of grunge and the Generation X tag – don’t listen to the conspiracy theories; ask a historian. The news of Kurt Cobain’s suicide broke 20 years ago today. The anniversary of his death – which probably…
New book for pre-order: ‘F*** You & Goodbye: The Dark, Moving & Often Hilarious History of the Resignation’
I’ve been waiting for this day. My new book of non-fiction is finally available on Amazon for pre-order as a print hardback. I’ve just signed off on the cover, and here it is. (Click to enlarge). Titled F*** You & Goodbye: The Dark, Moving & Often Hilarious History of the Resignation, it’s…