101 Things Birmingham Gave the World: The Book

101 Book cover

This is the book that proves that Birmingham is not just the crucible of the Industrial Revolution, but the cradle of civilisation.

It’s the definitive guide to the 101 things that made the world what it is today – and all of them were made in Birmingham.

Read how Birmingham gave the world the wonders of tennis, nuclear war, the Beatles, ‘that smell of eggs’ and many more… 97 more. It also includes a foreword by Stewart Lee called ‘A Birmingham of the memory,’ all about his relationship with the city.

“101 Things Birmingham Gave The World, is not a Birmingham of the memory. It is a living breathing thing, wrestling with the city’s contradictions, press-ganging the typically arch and understated humour of the Brummie, and an army of little-known facts, both trivial and monumental, into reshaping its confusing reputation.”
Stewart Lee

The book is now available to order and released on 12th December.

Written by: Jon Bounds, Jez Collins, Liz Cooke, Julia Gilbert, Simon Fox, Stuart Harrison, Craig Hamilton, Libby Hayward Bounds, Jon Hickman, Jon Neale, Steve Nicholls, Nick Stevens, Danny Smith, and Howard Wilkinson.

Cover design by Mark Murphy.

Edited by Jon Bounds and Jon Hickman, from an original idea by Craig Hamilton. Additional editorial support from Libby Hayward Bounds, Julia Gilbert, and Nick Moreton.

Thanks To

We couldn’t have done it without Wikipedia [no citation needed] nor the support of Kickstarter backers, including these guys:

* Adam Green
* Adam Stewart
* Alan McCann
* Andy Howlett
* Ben Waddington
* Blake Woodham
* Bren
* Brian Simpson
* Camilla Neppl Huber
* Caroline
* Cath Palgrave
* Christian Rusty Holloway
* Christopher Tsouvallaris
* Christopher Williams
* Claire Margaret Genevieve Spencer
* Damion Rice
* Dan Slee comms2point0
* Darren Langley
* Daryl Tomkins
* Dave Brown
* David Fisher
* David Goodman
* David Sagstad
* Derick
* Dubber
* Ed Cook
* Ed Lacey
* Eddie Bilborough
* Gary Ashwin
* Hannah Bounds
* Harry Vale
* Jake Grimley
* James Cook
* James McMullan
* Jamie Bullock
* Jamie McLeod
* Janine Wiedemann
* Jess Phillips
* Jez Higgins
* John Paddington
* Julia Gilbert
* Lee Mostari
* Margaret Roper
* Marie Pawlowski
* Mark Burge
* Mark Rogers
* Matthew Gidley
* Michael Loftus
* Michael Ware
* Michelle M Rafferty
* Mr KD Butt Esq
* Neil “I’m only a flipping philanthropist now!” Hine
* Nick
* Owen Johnson
* Paul Scott
* Peel and Stone
* Pete and Fiona
* Pete Stevens
* Peter Allen
* Phil Berry
* Rachel
* Rachel Cockett
* Raffaela Goodby
* Rebecca Roden
* Richard Phipps
* Robert Pugsley
* Robert Rowe
* Robin from Brum
* Sam Todd
* Sasha Kelley
* Simon & Katie
* Simon Fox
* Siôn Perks
* Steve “steviesocial” Jones
* Steven D Quirke
* Stuart Hackney
* Stuart Harrison
* Thomas T. Parker
* Tim Ellis
* Tom Ebbutt
* Tony Barnett
* Tony Smith
* Wendy Lowes

Author: Jon Bounds

Jon was voted the ‘14th Most Influential Person in the West Midlands’ in 2008. Subsequently he has not been placed. He’s been a football referee, venetian blind maker, cellar man, and a losing Labour council candidate: “No, no chance. A complete no-hoper” said a spoilt ballot. Jon wrote and directed the first ever piece of drama performed on Twitter when he persuaded a cast including MPs and journalists to give over their timelines to perform Twitpanto. But all that is behind him.