I’m a huge fan of Owen Jones after reading The establishment I was really excited to receive a copy of this. Last years general election was a frustrating time. Owen discusses what went wrong for the Labour Party and how things can change. This book is perfect for those like me who are interested in politics and a better and fairer society.

I was very interested to read this book, and it certainly didn't disappoint. Whilst I am no fan of the Labour Party, nor of Owen Jones, this is a well-written and well-researched book, which left me feeling immensely sad. Firstly that a man so manifestly unsuitable to lead the Labour Party could have been elected, and re-elected, secondly that Corbyn could have been so insensitive to how he needed to behave in order to lead the party, and thirdly that so many MPs were prepared to ruin any chances of the Labour Party forming a government for purely ideological reasons. My only criticism is that the book is sometimes a bit long-winded, but die-hard political geeks will love it anyway.

This Land is a balanced review of British politics over the last five years, in which Owen Jones discusses the rise and fall of Corybnism.

In 2015, Jeremy Corbyn, found himself in a race he never expected to win. He was a backbencher who was passionate about foreign policy and hated the limelight and adversity hence why he never intended to become leader. He ran for leader to make a point yet accidently found himself leader of the Labour party. Jeremy offered hope and a completely different way of living. After years of austerity, he became popular particularly amongst the younger generation and won people over with his ‘For the many not the few’ campaign, which led to the Labour party getting the highest vote share since 2001 and was the first time the party had gained seats since 1997.

However, Corbyn’s success was short lived and when the next election came around in 2019, Labour faced their biggest defeat since 1935. Owen Jones explores why this was, noting Jeremy’s hatred of facing conflict, the poor handling of allegations of antisemitism within the party, and the poor organisation skills and lack of Communications strategy for the 2019 election. Whilst for those who did support Corbyn this can be hard hitting; through these insights Owen Jones hopes that Labour can learn from these lessons to avoid history repeating itself in future elections.

Throughout this book I believe Jeremy Corbyn is presented in a fair way. Owen writes in a way which ensures Corbyn’s personality and passions shine through, showing him for the kindhearted and caring person that I believe he is, but Owen is not afraid to discuss his faults. The book is well written, showing both sides of the story.

Overall, I found this a very good insight into politics and what goes on behind the scenes. It showed the importance of everyone getting behind a campaign, and how easily the media can manipulate the public. We don’t always see who the real ‘bad guys’ are, or equally who are the real drivers of a campaign, but Owen picks the past five years apart into so much detail that we can really pinpoint where things went right and wrong. Whilst, parts of this book were tricky to read (I found myself rereading pages to fully comprehend everything), I believe it is great read for anyone who wants a better understanding of what went wrong for the Labour party in the 2019 election.

I would like to thank Net-Galley and Penguin Press UK for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The latest book by Owen Jones takes you through the context of British politics in the 2010s, then discussion of Miliband, Corbyn, Brexit, anti-semitism in the Labour Party and the ideological split within the party. It goes through the rise and fall of Corbynism in a thorough, but not completely objective, fashion.

It was almost harrowing in places, for example hearing about the staffers' behaviour during the leadership contest, but quite funny in others (e.g. the bit with the jam).

Certainly an interesting read, but this book is so dense it feels like wading through treacle. I got to the midway point and I was convinced the percentage read on the app was wrong. The name of the book baffles me. This is the story of Corbyn and the Labour party, not Britain as a whole.

I would be more inclined to recommend this in an audio format instead of print.

With everything that has happened in 2020, the General Election in December 2019 seems like a very long time ago. What ended up as a decisive victory for Boris Johnson concurrently resulted in the end of the road for Jeremy Corbyn's unexpected leadership of the Labour Party. In This Land, Owen Jones provides an insider's perspective into the Labour Party and critically analyses the successes and failures of the Corbyn years.

Being familiar with Owen Jones' work as a journalist, I was keen to read this book. I approached it with an air of trepidation as I expected Jones to be an overt apologist for the failures of 'the Corbyn project'. However, I was pleasantly surprised by fair-minded critique of the Corbyn years. Jones does not allow his inside experience to cloud his judgement of the ups and downs of the last few years. In fact, so much has happened since Ed Miliband's defeat in 2015 that this account feels like a rollercoaster ride.

I particularly enjoyed revisiting Corbyn's major high in 2017, securing the Labour Party's biggest share of the vote in a General Election since 2001. Jones really captures the excitement of a grassroots movement where the momentum (pun intended) came from the people. However, it is the behind the scenes insight into the backstabbing that characterised Labour under Corbyn that was most illuminating. Through interviews with a whole cast of characters, plus his own firsthand account, Jones does an excellent job and highlighting the inner workings and dysfunctions of the party.

Jones is fair in his critique of Corbyn, who comes across as a reluctant and indecisive leader. There's an element of sadness within the pages - a sense of what could have been had someone with more competence took the reins. From Brexit to ongoing antisemitic scandals, Jones leaves no stone unturned.

This is a great book for anyone who takes an interest in the inner workings of British politics or who is interested in analysing the chaos recent UK political history. Owen Jones is a good writer and just about manages to leave his own bias to one side. A worthwhile and important read for all sides of the political spectrum and with the shadow of the coronavirus crisis hanging over the end of the book, this felt like the appropriate time to read this one.

I really like Owen Jones' other books and am a supporter of the Labour Party so was intrigued by this book. It was so well researched and I found it fascinating.

Really interesting insight into the political climate over the last few years, a definite read for anyone who has pre-conceived ideas about Jeremy Corbyn and the labour party. It was shocking to read some of the backstabbing that went on during his leadership campaign, but also equally interesting to read about his downfalls as a leader. I would recommend to anyone, whichever party you support.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in return for an honest review.

Whilst I don't always agree with Owen, I always enjoy reading his articles and listening to him speak. He is an intelligent, committed, and persuasive speaker. This is a really interesting book covering the last 5 years (so the title is a little over-ambitious!)

His own commitment to Corbyn and the Corbyn project is well known but he attempts to analyse the events of the last 5 years in an objective and even-handed way whilst never leaving the reader in doubt of his own feelings.

For every person who left Labour because they saw it had made itself unelectable, there will be someone else who believes this was the right way to go. It illustrates the disparity now in the varying groups which would broadly call themselves 'Labour Party supporters'. It makes it clear (at least to me) that the 'one-party fits all' approach can no longer work.

This is a fascinating read.

This book is really a collection of essays about the Labour Party in the UK over the last five years. Divided into two sections Rise and Fall.

The first half deals with the era when Jeremy Corbyn became a leader of the Labour Party. Highlighting how several movements all found their new voice in the form of a new leader. These movements included anti-war movement (from the 2000s), to the students and anti-austerity. How despite infighting within the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP). The larger percentage of members of the Labour Party voted Corbyn as their new leader. The rise deals up until the May 2017 election, in which Labour managed to win a large number of votes. And of course, the summer of 2017 when Corbyn was followed by crowds singing his name (after his appearance at Glastonbury).
But, the part of the book I found most fascinating was the Fall! These essays deal with Brexit, the Anti-Semitism Crisis and the continuing infighting within the PLP. Jones compares Brexit to the Black Mirror episode 'Bandersnatch.' Whatever the decision you choose to elect, the outcome would not be pretty.

Overall, this book is a bleak look at the past few years of left-wing politics in the UK. Highlighting all the problem in one place. But, if you are interested in UK politics or a reader of Jones' columns I would recommend it.

This is a very well researched, balanced and informative look at the last decade in British politics and why Corbyn’s Labour Party leadership failed to win at the last general election from someone who was on the inside.

Regardless of where your political allegiances lie, this book is a must read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin for the ARC.

I voted labour in the elections, I voted remain in the referendum. I would have loved Corbyn to at least have been given a chance at bringing change and hope to the lives of those less well off. If you’re a socialist, if you joined the Labour party when Corbyn became leader because you saw it as a fresh new chance to change then you will enjoy this book, you will learn things, that like me, you didn’t realise. The chaos, the lack of strategy, the lack of communication that went on in the run up to the election. You will also see a few Labour names bandied about, so that you know who, and this is my own slant on it, ‘the bad guys’ were. There seems to be a lot of politicians certainly within the Parliamentary Labour Party who wouldn’t know socialism if they fell over it. But then we already knew that, but now we know who they were and still are.

Though I was never bored reading the book, as I got towards the middle I did feel like I was ploughing through a three hundred page essay. I’m not entirely sure about the structure of the book, it makes for hard going. There are few chapters, no dialogue, no charts, no subheadings, basically no white space. Just acres and acres of writing, and though always interesting I did begin to feel like I may never reach the end.

In fact part way through the analysis of Labour’s handling of the Brexit debate I did flick through. At the time it was happening it became tedious in my opinion, so to read about it all again wasn’t something I was enjoying too much, although I did learn quite a lot that I hadn’t realised at the time it was happening.

After a bit more skim reading and flicking through, and bearing in mind it had taken me over a week to get to 60% of the way through the book, I skipped to the end and worked my way back to the beginning of the last chapter – the summing up and the lessons learned from what went wrong. I did find this really interesting, and am still working my way backwards through the book. I’m not in the habit of reading books backwards but as mine was an advance copy of the e-book there are no links to chapters. Obviously in a physical book it’s much easier to find the parts you want to read fully.

All in all I enjoyed the majority of what I read and will probably dip back into it at some point in the future. It is well written obviously, as Owen Jones is a columnist, and he certainly goes into detail, leaving no stone unturned. I think it was, overall, well balanced and told very much how it was and without bias. But that’s just my opinion and I certainly don’t profess to be an expert.

Owen Jones' latest was a book I'd definitely looked forward to reading. Having enjoyed both Chavs (a lot) and The Establishment (not quite as much, but more than enough), I hadn't sought out much information about this one prior to reading. I had previously heard a little from a friend about the new one coming so when I saw this was available, I requested an advance copy figuring this must be it. As it happens, 'This Land' is not the same book I was once told about! (For the record, that one is now coming out next year and is provisionally called 'The Alternative: And How We Build It'. Having looked on Jones' Twitter, this other one was due to be finished in February 2019 but at some point I guess he decided - or was encouraged - to write and publish this other one first. I'll come back to all this at the very end.) So, I genuinely read this book as someone who had very little idea what it contained (and will add that the title seems to me a little misleading; it's more or less a close-up view of the rollercoaster experienced by the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership from 2015-19)

Firstly, it's definitely readable. Jones is a skilled, experienced writer, and the whole book reminded me of a succession of interesting, extended pieces of embedded journalism where the author is, at times, very much in the thick of the 'action'. Can this be problematic? Maybe. At times I felt I'd have liked him to include fewer details and instead give me greater incision or wider analysis which might have been easier with distance. Sometimes I wondered if he was striving to reach his word count on various chapters and the rather reportage-heavy text (many recounted conversations, quotes and messages, plus lots of overheard aides, advisors or 'party sources') could certainly have been more heavily edited in my view. One advantage is that this generally breezy style gives the reader a sense of urgency and intimacy, allied to the fact that Jones had some very privileged access at the time and clearly knows and interviewed loads of relevant people about their views and experiences of the period covered.

Secondly, it was interesting enough overall. I'd have personally preferred something more detached in tone, but instead it offers a very detailed (if partial) account of some of the various surprising, confusing, misjudged and unexpected events which happened within the Labour Party 2015-19. Jones frames the reasons for Corbyn's near-miraculous ascension neatly and the whole turbulent period is thoroughly examined, blow by bloody blow on occasions. But, for me at least, this verged on being a problem – I knew a fair amount of it already, on account of being someone who'd at least vaguely followed much of what was going on first time round as it unfolded. I suppose I was seeking a fresh perspective on what transpired and why, and whilst of course Jones offers some interesting, cogent analysis, and some funny and evocative behind-the-scenes anecdotes, it wasn't as much as I'd have liked. For someone less already familiar with the events described, it would likely be viewed as potentially more informative and illuminating.

However, my biggest criticism is that parts of this book just feel too recent and this causes unsuprising issues. It's not that the book is incoherently structured – it isn't, not least as it's largely chronological – but at the same time it didn't feel as smoothly edited or polished as I'd have expected. There felt like there was too much repetition of the same people and similar conversations, recurring variations on a discursive theme popping up in different chapters be it on Brexit, anti-semitism or general head office and party organisational chaos, and by the end my patience was wearing a bit. Not because I was bored exactly, but instead I was feeling like I'd already got the idea of how disastrously split various factions of the party had become (and that Corbyn, decent bloke though he remains in my view, was just woefully unsuited to providing anything resembling strong, decisive leadership when the Labour Party needed it most)

I glanced before submitting these words at some of the other - highly polarised - reviews one can find online*. I don't really understand why Jones has become such a hate-figure for some people on the right, and the most negative reviews of this book are ridiculous in my view, quite possibly written by people who would never dream of reading Jones in the first place. But equally, I don't think This Land is up to the same standard as his previous offerings, perhaps as a result of the whole project having been rushed, combined with the rather awkward 'insider/outsider' juggling act that Jones the activist-cum-advisor-cum detached journalist has to perform. It's not a bad book, and for people who know little about what took place in both the UK and the Labour movement in the past 5 years, it's instructive and valuable enough. That said, personally I'll just be waiting for Jones' next book, coming out next year hopefully, which will be the one I thought I was getting in the first place!

ps *Interestingly, I was unable to post this review on amazon.co.uk as they "have noticed unusual activity concerning reviews of this book, and have thus restricted it to verified purchases".

In 'This Land' Owen Jones looks at the last decade in British politics and specifically the Corbyn years from an insider's point of view. As a Labour activist I was looking forward to reading Jones analysis. I am not from the same wing of the Party as Jones so disagreed with much of his analysis about the Labour Party pre Corbyn. As expected he gives little credit to the Blair or Brown governments for what they did achieve and blames them for much of what came afterwards. He wastes no opportunity to criticise those not from the left such as Alan Johnson and Alastair Campbell - this was one of the weaknesses of the book for me. The strengths of the book are his incisive analysis of the inner workings of the Corbyn leadership team. He portrays the leader of the opposition's office as chaotic and lacking a coherent strategy on issues such as anti Semitism. Jones makes it clear that Corbyn's weak leadership failed those who elected him - Corbyn failed to lead and could not compromise and Jones suggests that John McDonnell would have made a far stronger leader.
Overall, I didn't find this to be a particularly balanced read and I feel saddened and angry about how Corbyn and his clique disgraced our party and brought it to near electoral oblivion. However, I would recommend it if you have any interest in the Labour Party or recent politics.
3.5 stars.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital ARC

I like Owen Jones’ writing even if I usually don’t agree with him! I’m sure if he knew me he would feel equally strongly opposed to my views but then that is what happens in a “broad church”, he might think Labour would be better off if it was less broad and I would argue for more breadth (I’d call it electability). Enough about my politics.

This Land: The Story of a Movement is more than just the story of the Corbyn era, it sets Corbyn in the long struggle between the different poles of the Labour Party going back to the 60s. This Land is not a simple tale of how Corbyn was betrayed by the right wing of the party, although Jones does rely very heavily on the leaked report that was prepared by some of the leadership for the EHRC investigation but never submitted. Despite my expectation This Land is quite balanced and ends up being highly critical of the inner circle who “managed” Jeremy Corbyn and of the appalling incompetence and lack of strategic planning that lead to the disastrous 2019 election.

The part on Brexit was revealing and well argued, as a determined remainer I was struck by the tactical errors that the remain campaign made both before and after the referendum. Corbyn could have done more but the rift between the party’s leavers and retainers was there before the referendum and remained irreconcilable.

The section on the antisemitism scandal was perhaps the bit I was most eager to read (I had been in the audience for the launch of the Chakrabarti Report and wrote about my experience of that day). Jones is uncompromising in his acknowledgement of the problem of antisemitism within a small part of the party membership (and fellow travellers) although he does accept some of the explanations or blame shifting of the internal leaked report (time will tell). Overall I was relieved that I did not find myself screaming “No, no, no, it wasn’t like that”

Jones shines a light on Corbyn’s indecisiveness, avoidance of conflict and lack of organisation. He is surprisingly critical of someone that he clearly admires and you sense how difficult it is for him to acknowledge Corbyn’s responsibility for the failure of “the project”.

This Land is a fascinating and unflinching read about the history of the Labour Party over the last 5 years, the mistakes, the villains and the heroes. Despite everything that went wrong in the Corbyn period, Jones remained committed to the “project”, I am not so sure.

If you think of yourself as of the left, regardless of which wing, you should read This Land

Owen Jones has given a fascinating and often eye-opening (and occasionally jaw-dropping) account of Jeremy Corbyn's tenure as Labour party leader, under attack from without and within. We are all only too familiar with the despicable behaviour of the right-wing press (Jones says "attacking Labour leaders is a blood sport for the British press" - he's not wrong, and Corbyn's character was assassinated on a daily basis), but the attitude of some Labour Party staffers, as reported here, is also alarming. Despite this, the party under Corbyn made a far better than expected showing in the 2017 election, putting forward a radical manifesto which nevertheless resonated with many, before being wiped out in the GetBrexitDone-dominated 2019 one (despite being up against an unprincipled charlatan who would rather hide in a fridge than answer a question) on a tide of right wing populism.

Corbyn, a veteran backbench MP and campaigner who could never be accused of being unprincipled, never expected to become party leader (nobody else expected it either when he announced an intention to stand in order to "widen the debate"). As a leader he had many good qualities - warmth, humanity, passion and an ability to connect with people and galvanise grassroots support - but unfortunately lacked other key attributes, seeming indecisive and conflict-avoidant. Jones' analysis is remarkably readable and thought provoking, though I'm not sure I agree with his view of John McDonnell as the best leader Labour never had. (I'm not sure if he actually says that, but it's along those lines.)

Corbyn's leadership was marred by allegations of anti-Semitism, both levelled at him personally and at the party. For what it's worth I don't believe at all that Corbyn himself is or was anti-Semitic (and I do believe that as a lifelong campaigner against injustice, he found the allegations personally hurtful). There's no doubt however that some party members (not most, not many, but some) were, and the handling of this was undoubtedly bungled.

An engrossing read, though we can only hope the account of Keir Starmer's tenure, when it comes to be written, is a bit less ultimately depressing.

I had previously read Chavs: The Demonization of the Working Class by Owen Jones and now after reading This land Owen has shown he is not a 1 hit wonder. and I am sure his dad would have been even prouder of him. I learnt a great deal from reading this book from behind what the public have seen and been told and as a JC supporter that has attended several of his rallies over the years I agree with the points and wished he had changed how politics is done and brought in the Netflix ethos of no rules rule. I have had so much enjoyment over the past few days reading This Land and hope it is a big success x

This Land examines the rise of Corbynism after a long period of Tory government with its focus on austerity, and charts the rise and ultimately, the demise, of what could have been a new dawn in politics. Owen Jones writes with passion and integrity and gives a balanced account of this period in Labour's history.

Jeremy Corbyn never had any ambitions to be the Labour Leader. A backbencher passionate about foreign policy and a man of principle, he found himself thrust into the limelight in a race he never expected to win. Following the financial crash of 2008, it was clear that people were becoming increasingly disillusioned with the Tory reign that had no loyalty to the many, with cuts to welfare and housing, a xenophobic approach to immigration, and what appeared to be contempt for public sector workers as their wages were cut time and again. The country was divided - the left were protesting globally, but there was also a steep rise in the far right narrative. This was only to be exacerbated with the disastrous EU referendum that was to leave the UK divided as never before.

Corbyn's campaign, for the many, not the few, saw him win the leadership contest and gain Labour the highest share of votes since 2001. But with a right wing media, and factions within his own party, he faced a battle that he was ill-prepared for. With allegations of antisemitism within his own party that were handled badly, a lack of resources, leadership skills and organization, the hopes for a new dawn in politics, were never to be realised. Owen Jones examines what Corbyn did well, and where he fell down, and the hope is still that the lessons learned will help Labour gain strength as we enter an unprecedented period of fear and uncertainty with the events of 2020 and covid 19.

Thank you to Netgalley and Allen Lane for this review copy. This is my hopefully unbiased review of the author's work and style. If you want to know the contents of the volume you cannot do better than to read it. The book's blurb is phrased with overt sensationalism which doesn't do it justice.
As I started this book I realised that if you read a book written by an ideologue you cannot expect them to fully put aside their beliefs. Yes, you can expect them to be honest, but that honesty is naturally coloured by what they see as self-evident. So, don't look to find in this book a quantitative analysis of its period. Owen Jones's bias permeates the text and as an ideologue, he appears like so many of his ilk, to find excuses for mistakes made whilst damning nearly all who oppose the dogma of his subject.
His writing is clear and he doesn't pretend to be anything else than who and what he is. So, with that in mind, I suggest the volume provides a very good report on the thinking and background of the Labour party during its recent failure to take power. To see the period in a true historical context we will have to wait at least a decade, but meanwhile, Mr Jone’s book provides us with reasons where none were self-evident and appropriately he provides the view from the left which is normally ignored/suppressed by Fleet Street’s right-wing bias.
I cannot say I enjoyed the book, not because of the research behind the work or any lack of clarity of the writing which is excellent, but because it made me feel discomforted that modern-day idealistic politicians can get it so wrong and in reality, so very few of them see with an unblinkered eye. It is as if the real world has failed to make an impression on them since they formulated their naïve political ideas.
I have given the book five stars because if nothing else Owen Jones has reminded me that the centre-ground, whilst not being as exciting as either of the wings, tend to provide more stable governance allowing some ideals to be fulfilled albeit at the cost of dissatisfying an electorate who have been taught or should I say beguiled into believing self-gratification comes at no cost.

Owen Jones gives an meticulous, balanced and insightful history of Corbyn leadership. It’s engaging even if you know how the story went - and does have some things that only Owen would know, given his access and contact (he came up with the word ‘lexit’, who knew?).

It doesn’t feel like the story of a movement, though, focused as it is in the upper circles of politics. 2017 was indeed a movement, 2019 felt like we were still there on the ground, working harder if anything, but if we were the movement we didn’t move much.

It’s a tearful read in places, but important.

Five years ago, Jeremy Corbyn achieved the seemingly impossible. An amiable left-wing backbencher of some thirty years standing, his victory in the contest to succeed Ed Miliband was one of the most astounding political occurrences of the past fifty years. Yet four years later, his leadership ended in bitter failure. This insider's account from the talented left-wing writer Owen Jones, one of the first people to champion Corbyn's campaign in 2015, tells the story of this failure.
We will all have our own views of Jeremy Corbyn. However, this is a review of Owen Jones' book not of Corbyn himself. And Jones is frank about Corbyn's failings. He could be stubborn and badly organised. He totally mishandled the Brexit issue and the antisemitism row, two issues which totally derailed his leadership. On the other hand, Jones does not mince words on how Corbyn was betrayed by those within his own party and how less surprisingly he was brutally misrepresented and maligned by Britain's conservative media. Owen Jones' book is a thoughtful, well-written, balanced, intelligent and accessible account of a revolution which failed.