John Cornelius’s affectionate and witty portrait of Liverpool 8, first published twenty years ago, will amuse and entertain people wherever they live. Cornelius escorts us among old-fashioned, small-time English shops, Arab and Indian muzak-filled supermarkets, Pakistani newsagents and Chinese chip-shops. Fortified with beer and peanuts, armed with sketch-pad and graphite sticks, Cornelius worked as a quick sketch artist, and he conveys with great charm the contradictions and eccentricities of a community he knew intimately. "An extravaganza of autobiographical nostalgia... the most dramatic chapter is on the riots."—New Society "Cornelius’ book is an exhilarating slice of Liverpool social history written by someone who loves his native city."—The Face

During the Second World War the British Merchant Navy's main task was to bring food, fuel and materials to Britain and it's allies, and to ferry troops wherever they were needed. The ship's crews came from all parts of the then Empire and beyond. One in six of them lost their lives. They did much more, taking part in the evacuations and landings throughout the war. They played a key role in several of these operations, particularly the little known evacuations from France after Dunkirk and the evacuation of Singapore. They manned almost a thousand ships for the D-Day Landings, including more than half of the infantry Landing ships and all of the Hospital Carriers that ferried the wounded back to Britain.

Written within the perspective of Africana critical studies, this book presents a transatlantic voyage and the depths of historical Black experience in Liverpool, England. The author addresses the narrative of the Black Atlantic propounded by Paul Gilroy and further reveals a firsthand account of a largely hidden aspect of Black British history.