Mail Men: The Story of the Daily Mail the Paper that Divided and Conquered Britain

by Adrian Addison

Mail Men explores the rise and rise of the Daily Mail, Britain’s most profitable newspaper, from its founding by the Harmsworth brothers in 1896, to turning "compact" in 1971 and becoming the world’s biggest newspaper website in 2011. Charting the controversy that has always dogged the publication — from its flirtation with fascism in the 1930s to its fractious relationship with celebrities today, Addison explains how the divisive paper has shaped British journalism and, indeed, Britain itself.

With colorful portraits of rambunctious life behind the masthead (discover why one corridor is dubbed "scary" by staffers), Mail Men includes fascinating biographical details of key figures in the history of the paper — including idiosyncratic boss Paul Dacre, unrivaled moral arbiter for Middle England and the highest paid newspaper editor in the U.K.

Drawing on interviews with over 100 of the paper’s journalists, past and present — as well as fans, victims, and critics — this is the uncut story of the Mail Men who created and ran the paper, and the underlings who were expected to give their lives to this peculiarly British institution.

Genres: Nonfiction, Journalism, History, Politics, Business

336 pages, Hardcover

First published October 13, 2015

Reviews

[MJ Nicholls]

Read up to p.210. A fascinating history of an insidious institution, told with no panache or narrative flair whatsoever.

[Harry Buckle · Rating 5 out of 5]

For any Brit (or Mick) Addison's book clearly tells the back story of just over 100 years of a newspaper dynasty - with some surprising links for some I suspect, bringing together the worlds of Rothermere ,Northcliffe , Harmsworth and also Murdoch. It is currently very fashionable in the media to denigrate and mock both the paper and particularly the current? (25 years actually) editor Paul Dacre. Addison follows in a brilliantly described narrative that pulls no punches,the fate and then fortunes of the founders. Observing with clarity the very different talents - or lack of- for the various brothers ,cousins sons and heirs. My own memories of the Daily Mail, Evening News and others started in my trainee journalist days in London's Fleet Street then home to most of the UK's press and the key international press, news and photo agencies . Reading some of the tributes and tough commentary on my heroes of the day- Vincent Mulchrone, Ian Wooldridge, Jean Rook, Linda Lee Potter et al was an informative trip down what Private Eye has long called the 'Street of Shame.' The book really deserves a place on most bookshelves...although will not be quite so meaningful to US buyers unless they keen students of media-- or indeed history.

[Kirsty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed finding out about the "old" history of the Daily Mail- I knew nothing about where it had originated from. As we got further along the timeline into modernity it turned into more of a character study of the editors, most obviously Dacre, but it was still interesting. It just started to feel a bit like it was hurtling along. I enjoyed the updated prologue taking in Brexit.

[Lupeng Jin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A not-bad reading experience in the "Big" history of the "little" newspaper, which is definitely one of my favorites in paper and on-line. I used to make some personal reviews on interesting stories cited from the DM, as a matter of fact, MailOnline, and typed them down on my blog. The articles won me massive praises from my friends. Even now, I still read them daily to know what is going on in the UK, a country I have been in love with for years. It is a great book for me to understand the history of this newspaper, even though some parts of it are vicious in my eyes.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good enough book, nothing amazing about it, but well written enough to make me want to finish it. Am no more enamoured of The DM now than before I read this, just confirmed what I already thought and the current editor comes across as a nightmare. Worth a read though as the history is interesting

[Peter Dunn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it or loathe it the Daily Mail, and the Mail Online, are two of most read news sources in the UK (and indeed world-wide in the case of the Mail On Line). So no matter what one’s view is on the content of those two media, anyone with an interest in the UK press would surely welcome a decent book examining this significant section of it

……and this is certainly more than just a decent book covering the history, personalities, evolution and even possible future of the Daily Mail and the Mail Online. Inevitably some personalities come out of it better than others and you can probably guess which do not come out quite so well.

[Hashim Alsughayer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very enjoyable book, that will give you the full picture of what made and goes around the now infamous Daily Mail.

A paper that many describe as the very worst aspect of the British and after reading this book, you will know why. Although this book will also give you the full history behind the paper and the people who helped built it and make it the powerhouse of today's British journalism. And of course, we will know the different elements that led the famous print newspaper to evolve into its equally-notorious digital version.

An informative book for fans of the medium.
I can truly say that after reading this book, I'm never going to pick up and read the daily mail.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Certainly a very good read and, in the early chapters, an excellent account of the Daily Mail’s history and of the characters that forged it. However, as the book progressed into the modern age, it became altogether more chilling. Paul Dacre is an absolutely repulsive and monstrous individual. The influence he wields over UK public life - and the damage over Brexit that his paper has caused - truly sickens me.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author, in what he describes as “the unofficial story”, charts the rise of The Daily Mail newspaper from its founding by the Harmsworth brothers in 1896 through two world wars to it becoming “compact” in 1971 and then developing its online counterpart - with its reputation as the right wing “voice of middle England.” Here the focus is on the men at the newspaper helm.

I have long been interested in journalism, so this book had immediate appeal, but I failed to find it “gripping, written in delightfully witty and readable prose” - as promised in the blurbed Frankly it was boring and long winded. Several times l got fed up and put it down, but eventually returned to it.

My interest picked up slightly as we moved into the 1970s, and I remembered events, the politics and the writers such as Linda Lee Potter and I enjoyed reading of the thinking behind the development of Femail and the Scottish Daily Mail. A large section towards the end of the book was devoted to the Mail Online, apparently the world’s biggest digital newspaper - and one I am not familiar with. But, with its focus on celebrity culture gossip, it is has faced serious accusations of poaching stories and photographs. The lengthy passages on the editors were very detailed and the author obviously thought highly of David English. But the picture of working under him, his successor Paul Dacre, and Martin Clark, the Online editor sounded horrendous and mega stressful. These later chapters did cast a searching light on the current operation of the Mail brand and I revised my rating to 2.5.

I much preferred Andrew Marr’s autobiography of life in journalism.

[Steven Gutierrez · Rating 4 out of 5]

As you can expect, this unauthorised story of DM covers interviews and quotes from the infamous history. Lots of detail about the circumstances before and the launch period.

The last fifth of the book goes into the recent digital transformation, wish it had expanded - perhaps a sequel in a few years!

[Tom Gidden · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting subject matter, but incredibly repetitive writing. Chapters would start with a full description of a "new" character, that had already been introduced earlier in the book. It's as if a reasonably coherent book had been chopped up and shuffled.

[Steve CF · Rating 5 out of 5]

Compelling and informative history of one of the most iconic (for better or worse) British newspapers. The book also gives some really interesting insights into the history and inner workings of Fleet Street.

[Amory · Rating 1 out of 5]

Uninteresting unnecessary unneeded unbelievably pointless

[Ben Rowan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining history on the world’s most powerful, and unnerving, English language newspapers. Sadly was missing some input from the editor and chief but it is an unauthorised biography.