The Queen's Diamond Jubilee, the Olympics and last year's Royal wedding are events that should have created a wave of patriotism across the land. But Britannia no longer rules the waves and a land once typified by its self-assurance and enterprise is now weighed down by the history of its decline from greatness - afraid even to celebrate its past glories, achievements seemingly tainted by jingoism and colonialism. Nor are its peers afraid to exploit such weaknesses. David Cameron's veto of a European treaty to save the Euro unleashed a torrent of anti-British invective that was more than simply cosmetic; President Obama has seemingly gone out of his way to demonstrate how little weight the so-called "special relationship" carries with him. Britain even faces challenges from within, with the Scottish Parliament pressing for an end to the Union. With Britain's values and status maligned and the subject of sneers, no wonder its people are in the midst of an identity crisis. Spurred on by the vexed question of what "Britishness" actually means, Whittle sets out to examine what, if anything, is actually wrong with being British? More than that, Being British is a humorous and anecdote-packed celebration at the Britain of today, covering some of our greatest national institutions, habits and characters. This is a landmark book as Britain struggles to cement its place in the twenty first century.