In 1997, thirty years after the demise of 'Swinging London', Britain again seemed to be the centre of the cultural universe, with a thriving arts scene, a new Labour government and a young and enterprising prime minister. 'Cool Britannia' seemed to sum up the new spirit of the 1990s in the hip language of the 1960s.

In this book, Bloom offers a radical and controversial guide to the possibilities for intellectual life, popular culture, literary production and political authority in multi-cultural Britain in 2000 and beyond.