Nothing justifies the violation of human dignity!

This story should be in the news everyday until the victims of this betrayal are compensated. I found true and enviable skill in Gentlemen's writing, vivid and emotive, truly capturing the mindset of the victims. The narration is personal and truly mellifluous. It is a testament to the author and her hard work, dedication and absolute investment into the plight of these people. The resilience and tenacity she has demonstrated here is Saintly. I really enjoyed hearing about the (few) success stories, that were truly heartwarming.

I was tempted to remove a star for sections of the post-script, but could not detract praise from such a piece of important work.
This time could have been better spent telling you to go to the Windrush website and donate money to fund legal action and support the victims. Visit the Runnymead website for letter templates you can write to your MP to maintain pressure on the government to pay reparations and expedite bureaucratic processes. You don't throw water over an electrical fire to put it out, you take away its fuel and suffocate it!

I felt Gentlemen let herself down when entering into typical Guardian Asch-conformist, spurious, vitriolic, contradictory, diatribe that the UK is racist and anti-immigration. The Windrush scandal is a depiction of institutional racism and rightly emphasises the duty of society to challenge things and not descend into apathy. That does not mean that the whole country run around screaming "They took our jobs!" Maybe she should include herself in her description of the leaders at Whitehall; "Smart people come from too narrow a background", to understand the inflammatory nature of this prose, detracting the focus of her work. This is offensive and unhelpful.

Excellent on the whole though, incredible work.

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2 people found this helpful

A disturbing listen

If ever you thought that governments were duplicitous and self serving this is the book to reinforce those judgements. It reveals an undercurrent of deeply institutionalised racism that pervades all aspects of civic life. Politicians create problems then, when they cause major difficulties, deny culpability obstruct efforts to put them right. I feel nothing but contempt for David Cameron and especially Theresa May. Their hostile environment policy for illegal immigration has done untold damage to the West Indian community that has still not been repaired. It also illustrates how this mentality fed into the Brexit debate. Well presented and narrated.

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1 person found this helpful

Hopefully this book positively impacts UK policy.

The examples provided in this book of the institutional policies of The Government of the United Kingdom, domestically referred to as Her Majesty's Government continue to be archived in history, so we can learn more how to serve for the betterment of others.

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It will keep you on your toes

This book was well read and well put together. I gave 5 stars because of the story. But, at time I had to put it down because I was angered at the government attitude and refusal to see actual fact. Denying simple rights to people for the sake of money and numbers. Destroying so many lives. Truly and eye opener. I still don’t get though what took so long to come out to the surface.

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Everyone should read this

This book not only tells the stories of the people of Windrush and the overall scandal in an accessible, sympathetic and comprehensible way, it also reveals the filthy behaviour of the government of that period. The people who would so readily skip on from this are still part of the government and parliament that ‘govern’ in the UK. It should be a warning to everyone.

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A critically important read

Brilliantly written, very clear and pleasant narration, hugely informative. Heart breaking stories that had to be told and have to be read.

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The full shame of British failure of justice

this is an excellent book that you won't want to read because it disgusts on may levels, starting with the toxicity of Mrs May's hostile environment but exposing the actions of Cameron and many others. However, it is a testament to the suffering of the victims and an important piece of work.

Not a fan of the author's works because this is the first one I've read. I might be going forward though because she quotes Gary Younge and works in the field of investigative journalism. Grenfell next Amelia?

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Demonstration of institutional racism in the UK

Sad story of how institutionally racist the UK remains. The legacy of colonialism remains and is yet to be addressed in UK society at large.

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À must read /listen book

Thank you to Amelia Gentleman for writing this book . It is so very important for this story to get out to the wider public. Written with compassion and determination to get to the truth a remarkable book :)

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A hard but very necessary listen!

all should here this to gain an insight towards the operations of institutional racism, the power of the media and reactionary workings of politics.
A very thought provoking, emotional rollercoaster!

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