Year of the Rat

‘This undercover expose of far right extremism in the UK is truly gripping. Unputdownable.’

Otto English

A horribly compelling account… What he exposes is both petrifying and sometimes surprising, and is related with admirable compassion, humanity and even humour

Bookseller

'Anyone who wants to understand British politics has to read this book.'

Grace Blakeley

‘Important and courageous’

James O’Brien.

Compelling… [Shukman] is to be commended for his efforts, which must have taken courage and determination

Observer

[A] courageous and diligent book… a close and gripping inspection of the character of the far right and threat it poses… Shukman’s reporting is bold and assiduous, and provides rare documentary insight

New Statesman

Shukman’s brave delve into the dark recesses of Britain’s Far Right feels especially timely… The strength of Year of the Rat is…the inferences to the shady puppet-masters who continue to shape world politics for the worse

UK Press Syndication

[An] illuminating and disturbing portrait of today’s British far right

Jewish Chronicle

[An] excellent investigation into the underworld of the British far right… There is…an immense value in the intimacy of Shukman’s account

Times Literary Supplement

Year of the Rat reads like the perfect thriller. Nail bitingly tense, darkly funny, unexpectedly compassionate and urgently important. I was caught up with it from the first page

Esther Freud

The rise of the far-right is one of biggest and most challenging stories around, and Harry tells it with clarity, compassion and humour. There are episodes in the book that could be set pieces in a fine novel, they really stay with you. And I found his personal bravery humbling and inspiring

Sathnam Sanghera

Year of the Rat is that rare thing: investigative journalism with the nerve of a thriller and the wit of a great piece of reportage… Courageous, sharply observed and very timely

Johanna Thomas-Corr

Boldly and bravely, Shukman achieves something only the best novels manage. He sits with far-right activists long enough to understand them, and in doing so, makes the movement far more frightening and far more human than any polemic ever could

Lea Ypi

Brave and humane, Harry Shukman delivers a nuanced and insightful portrait of a world many of us would prefer not to see

Graham Norton