Although this would be a good read, I have to say that Sopel was good company, reading his own work, during my weekly commute.

The book succeeds admirably, in my opinion, in making it very clear that there is a world of difference between the two societies, however much we may like and admire individuals from the other side of the Atlantic. I’ve never attended a literary event where the raising of hands from the audience was so immediate, so sustained. I know that during both Gulf wars it was the BBC that both British and American troops tuned into to get the latest on current events. The chapters are single-word titles: Anger, Race, Patriotism, Government, God, Guns, Anxiety, Special, and Truth, each focussing on a different aspect of what makes the USA so different. At the end of the book I was no clearer on whether Sopel, as a four year resident of Washington DC is an America - phile or an America -phobe .Why was Hilary Clinton so hated – something that mystified us in the UK – and why, indeed, was there so much hate generally in that ill spirited election? It helps us understand some of the entrenched cultural factors that make the US seem so different to the UK and reminds us not to think that because we speak broadly the same language, we’re the same. Every time you need public to face any sort of artificial problem, the media involuntarily bring up that notion.

Then it would be obvious that Americans are not just Brits who incorrectly say fries, when it’s chips; chips when it’s crisps, cookies when it’s biscuits; and clearly do not drink enough tea (with milk! It strikes me that he never set out to do a hit job on the president, more to give a counterpoint to the endless stream of tweets that Trump seems so keen on.Despite of all the Right Acts, the fact is that many African Americans still have no driving licence. Jon Sopel, the BBC's North America Editor since 2014, provides an interesting and sometimes frightening insight into the USA. If your government doesn't maintain the infrastructure, mend roads, bridges, railways, what are they for? Please, do not forget that about 200 years ago allegedly the Founding Fathers of the USA declared that “all men are created equal”.