Paperback review: The Road Not Taken, By Frank McLynn

Frank McLynn's exploration of why British revolutions go pfft! is packed with interest. The collapse of Wat Tyler's rebellion is a mystery, though Richard II reacted “with a viciousness that always characterises elites [after] a narrow squeak”.

McLynn notes that Herbert Morrison's view of the General Strike would have found favour with Trotsky, “An industrial struggle… must be a physical force” except for his conclusion “nobody with half a brain believes that in Great Britain such a policy could be successful.”