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I’ve enjoyed this. Certainly not as much as Moneyland from same author but fantastic nonetheless. Book pretty much just walks people through the development of the process of sheltering dirty money in the west throughout chapters on Suez, British Virgin Islands, Gibraltar, Scotland etc, all through the colourful but still detail oriented anecdotes from people who helped or fought the entrenchment of dirty money in Britain. All the more relevant with events unfolding in Ukraine as some of that mo...
Lucid readable prose, and a miserably depressing, if rather predictable outcome. We lose the empire but still insist on being relevant... by being the most amoral facilitators of kleptocracy going. Even the americans with their love of filthy dollars thought the british practices were too much. I mean it's all so hugely depressing. Suspect as ever if you suspected this already you'll find it compelling and absorbing. If you don't like anyone saying anything remotely mean about ENGURLAND etc you'...
Publication date: June 14, 2022Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review an advanced reader's copy of this book. This in no way affects my review, all opinions are my own and may be affected by the fact that I currently have nothing better to do than read multiple books a day!SYNOPSIS*****************In his forceful follow-up to Moneyland, Oliver Bullough unravels the dark secret of how Britain placed itself at the center of the global offshore
Bulloughs theme is that in the post-WWII decades Britain lost an empire - but found a new role. That role was 'butler to the world', i.e. helper, enabler and general problem-solver to anyone who could afford it.There are plenty of references to the 'Gentleman's personal gentleman' extraordinaire, the Jeeves who gets Bertie Wooster out of any scrap, be it with family, club statutes or the law. Britain has now got a new cadre of enablers, who exist to facilitate any kind of service for whoever can...
Critical reading to understand Britain's pivotal role in the modern geo-political landscape. A continuation of Bullough's sobering expose 'Moneyland', 'Butler to the World' takes the reader on a journey of "Butler Britain". This paints an unfortunate and depressing picture of what the UK's current role is on the global stage. Britain will do anything for anyone, if the price is right - and we'll do it better than anyone else. Like Bullough's Moneyland this book does a great job of explaining the...
From the author who wrote Moneyland (which discusses the methods through which criminal money is hidden offshore), this book focuses more on the UK’s role in this process, and the role of British colonies.The detail is fantastic on what actually occurs and why the system is so problematic. The historical detail is the best part of this - since the author drills down into how the UK began to offer financial services, both in the homeland and in the colonies. Essentially it all started in the 50s
An interesting and eye opening read. Not sure it’s going to change too many minds, as it’s more of a narrative than evaluative style, but it certainly achieves the goal of shining a light on the harm done by British service industries, and the narrative tool of the butler helps cut through an otherwise complex problem
Surprisingly, I really enjoyed it. I will admit at first I thought to myself that it would be over my head, the kind of book where it just keeps dragging but it began to make sense to me. It followed nicely and it definitely is an eye opener. I won this book on Bookread and I’ m really glad I did.
Depressing really.
In the first half of 2022 a huge amount of media conversation was being dedicated to how deeply influential Russian oligarchs had become in Britain, largely as a consequence of Putin's February invasion of the Ukraine. Bullough's book couldn't be more timely.Bit by bit Butler to the World documents Britains further descent from a morally bankrupt empire to a morally bankrupt servant to the world's super rich irregardless of how they came by their ill gotten gains.Little of this will come as a hu...
One of those titles, like Fake Law, that should be required reading for every public official, as well as for anyone wanting to understand the state of the nation. Magisterial.
If you're going to read one book this year, this should be the one. A forensic takedown of Britain's corrupt financial system. Riveting, depressing. Should be required reading for every politician and policy maker.
What a fantastic, well researched and horrifying book on the level of corruption that the UK is at the centre of. I just couldn't put this one down even though I had some knowledge of BVI, Gibraltar and all the rest.The frustration is that nothing will ever change in this country.
Exploring the way in which Britain services oligarchs, builds tax havens and launders money, Oliver Bullough presents a startling, if sometimes overdramatic, picture of current policy on economic crime. This is a polemic, let's get that out the way to start. It takes a strong anti-UK Government stance, going back to 1956 Suez Canal Crisis and almost constantly portraying the government as inept, corrupt and servile. I get the feeling the latter adjective is the one which might stir up the most S...
Depressing, but well-researched and written.
An interesting continuation of the best-selling “Moneyland”. This time the author takes a deeper dive into the British way of helping rich people to hide their fortunes, no questions asked. The story is appalling and leaves you with a healthy dose of skepticism about the latest declarations of the British government cutting ties with Russian oligarchs. However, the level of detail can leave a reader a little bit exhausted. In some chapters, even the author’s lively journalistic style couldn’t ma...
