Today: A History of our World through 60 years of Conversations & Controversies

by Edward Stourton (Editor), Nick Robinson (Foreword), Martha Kearney (Foreword)

Sixty world-changing stories from six decades of BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

Edited by Edward Stourton and complete with forewords by Nick Robinson and Martha Kearney and in introduction from the Today programme editor Sarah Sands, this book examines the impact of major events including the fall of the Berlin Wall, 9/11 and space exploration.

A keepsake for any armchair historian or people interested in current affairs, this hardback book reflects our history and how one of the BBC's flagship radio programmes has tried to make sense of it all.

Genres: Nonfiction

512 pages, Hardcover

Published September 5, 2019

About the author

Edward Stourton is a newspaper columnist, writer and presenter of several high-profile current affairs programmes and regularly presents BBC Radio Four programmes such as The World at One, The World this Weekend, Sunday and Analysis. He is a frequent contributor to the Today programme, where for ten years he was one of the main presenters.

Reviews

[Dylan Vieites Glennon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll forever love BBC Radio 4, and I found this book to be so brilliant since it recanted first-person experiences around different subjects as said on air the day it occurred. From varying Prime Ministers and other interesting individuals.

At the same time, it enabled me to contextualise information I had previously vaguely heard about and not understood the ramifications of.

[Cambridge Spine Crackers · Rating 4 out of 5]

A remarkable account of the late 20th and early 21st century, told through the lens of one of the BBC’s flagship programmes.

I found the audiobook version to be incredibly beneficial, as they could insert the audio archive that they’re referring to within each section, giving deeper context to the tone of the remarks being quoted.

I liked the way they categorised and themed chapters, not simply choosing to go chronologically.

[Colette Coen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book that I have been dipping into over the last few months. It looks at the last 60 years through the lens of the Today programme and gives bite sized history lessons. None of the chapters are more than a few pages, but they enlighten with the nuggets of knowledge.