With humor, this text documents the irreversible destruction that has occurred across much of urban England and the English countryside, and the effects this has had on its people. Murphy has gone out into the provinces and painted a picture of just how dreadful England has become. He began early in 1999 and spent a grueling 8 months examining over 30 English towns and cities which his research had suggested would stand up to the charge of "decay." None of them let him down.