1965: The Year Modern Britain Was Born review analysis of a revolution

A combination of arts criticism and political commentary demonstrates why the events of the 1960s are still relevant

Is there a single year that can be said to have bequeathed us the Britain we live in today? For journalist Christopher Bray it is 1965, when a confluence of cultural, political and socio-economic developments smashed apart the certainties of the postwar period and ushered in the modern era.

Although just three years old in 1965, the author who has published acclaimed biographies of Sean Connery and Michael Caine is evidently an aficionado of the swinging 60s, a label that has already paid homage to the decade's profound impact on Britain's cultural and political landscape. This is not, however, to suggest that 1965 lacks originality. Blending arts and literary criticism with biography and political commentary, Bray serves up a nostalgia-tinged appraisal of the year's key characters and events, never failing to show why these remain relevant.

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