READ THIS: Britannia in Brief: The Scoop On All Things British by Leslie Banker and William Mullins

As you know, we are definitely Anglophiles here at Whom You Know, with our Take a Trip to London column and we could not think of a more perfect book to read before your next trip to the UK! We only wish that it was published years ago before we ever went...but we are consoled by the fact that many of our hypotheses on the English culture were spot on, and much more enhanced after reading this unique work of a "Cliff Notes" on the UK.

Contrary to Cliff Notes, Britannia in Brief is written at a high level, yet it engages the reader to an entertaining degree. We thoroughly enjoyed filling in the bridges in our gaps of knowledge on everything from Cockney slang to having a better understanding of the politics of England.

A country that is so rich in history and culture, England is lucky to have had this fabulous book written by Leslie Banker and William Mullins and we are happy that they met! A married couple, they collaborated between having an American perspective lacking the complete understanding of culture that this book provides to the English perspective supplying it all. It is true that we as Americans know less about them as their culture does not pervade ours (aside from Whom You Know's Take a Trip to London column...) as ours pervades theirs with American movies, television, etc.

A sample of the elucidation you can expect to encounter upon reading this work:
*Differences between England and the UK
*Quite fun slang terms
*Neighborhoods of London
*The Class System
*What is the difference between a Duke, an Earl and a Baron
*Newspapers
*All you ever wanted to know about Cricket, Soccer (i.e. Football), Snooker and the like
*Why the institution of the Mayor of London is new but Parliament is old
*Why every Manhattanite would love love love the Tube especially compared to the MTA but why it is socially acceptable to complain about it (Actually-Peachy Deegan was there for the tube strike and did not think it compared with the absolute horrid experience of the MTA strike - which if our memory serves us correctly was at Christmastime in 2005...)
*What Public School means across the pond

This list could literally go on-we thought we knew a lot about England but now we REALLY think we know a lot. This is the most short and sweet book with a vast amount of interesting information that is a must-have for every Anglophile with a heartbeat! Whom You Know recommends Britania in Brief!