'Urgent and essential reading. From grasping bankers to opportunistic lawyers and feckless MPs, unable and unwilling to withstand the schemes of the global rich, Oliver Bullough has drilled down to the root of the malaise that's rotting the UK system. Beautifully written with quiet despairing humour, this is the defining story of our times' - Catherine Belton 'Not only a witty and well researched economic history of Britain's role as financial Butler to the world, this is also a savage analysis of Britain's soul. As essential as Orwell at his best' - Peter Pomerantsev 'Oliver Bullough unsparingly reveals the devastating facts behind Britain's dirty financial secrets and moral guilt while directly challenging the UK to clean up its act. This book is a must-read for those who care about our reputation in the world today' - Andrew Mitchell MP, former British international development minister 'Anyone who cares about the future of this country should read this sizzlingly written and incendiary story of our national decline. For more than 60 years our financial system has been corroded by greed - and has in turn corrupted our politics. This book blows apart Britain's image for gentlemanly respectability and lays bare the real picture: ruthless greed disguised by hypocrisy, and tolerated because of wilful ignorance' - Edward Lucas, author 'The shocking revelation of how the old heart of an unscrupulous empire turned into a fawning servant to the global super-rich. The sooner more people realise this, the better' - Danny Dorling, author.