Currently I am reading Nick Cohn - Yes we have no. It's a bit like a travel guide to England in a Bill Bryson style, but it investigates the more subversive side to the UK. It is a unique book and well worth a read in my opinion.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Yes-We-Have-Nik-Cohn/dp/0099883201
In particular I liked the following quote from page 244.
"I'm troubled by a vision of England future: A vast, interlocking grid of theme parks; hundreds upon thousands of family attractions (kiddies half price), endlessly recycling the past, till every last aspect of living great and small, old and new, has been reduced to souvenirs. Who then will still know the difference between a renovated colliery, a souped-up steel and a Medieval Maniax."
Nick Cohn - Yes we have no, page 244
This quote reminded me of my visit last year to the National Coal Mining Museum (NCM) in Wakefield the heartland of British coal. John Bulmer and Ian Beesely amongst others talked about photographing the North in the sixties and in particular the mining aspect of our heritage.
http://www.ncm.org.uk/displaypage.asp?id=150
