The Last Goodbye

The History of the World in Resignation Letters

Matt Potter author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Little, Brown Book Group

Published:4th Feb '16

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

The Last Goodbye cover

History is written by the winners. It's the faithful servants, the insiders, the ones who stick around, who can adapt to almost any condition that get to write the official histories. They publish the memoirs, park in the directors' spots, erect the statues, form the new governments, wipe out the pockets of resistance, recruit the new starters, set the agendas, talk on the documentaries and retrospectives. Yet theirs - the official version - is never the whole story. The quitter's tale offers a far more compelling, and often a more honest version of history.

The Last Goodbye, Matt Potter collects the pithiest, angriest, most hilarious messages of resignation throughout history, including those whose exits were a springboard to eventual success, such as Steve Jobs, George Orwell and Charlie Sheen.It's full of self-deception, bloody knives, betrayal, honour, disgrace, disgust, thwarted ambition and shattered hopes, and sometimes a wicked sting in the tail . . .

A hilarious history of the resignation letter... Potter examines our fascination with parting shots * Telegraph *
Will make you want to quit your job immediately * Buzzfeed *
Just magnificent - an alternate history of our time * Monocle *
Will leave you slightly applauding or, maybe, looking to the door yourself * Metro *
A fascinating and profound look at how quitters shape history * The Current *
A cracking read * Daily Politics *
The sort of book that makes you think, long after you've put it down -- Reverend Richard Coles, BBC Saturday Live
Celebrates the art of the elegant - or explosive - resignation * The Week *
A marvellous idea ... Matt Potter has collected some real beauties * Independent *
[The resignation letters] have a compelling intensity, overlooked until Matt Potter spotted the human drama in even the most understated examples * The Glasgow Herald *

ISBN: 9781472122100

Dimensions: 198mm x 128mm x 23mm

Weight: 230g

336 pages