<DIV><p>Britain's leading contemporary historian revisits the grand themes that have run through modern Britain, including the abiding trends of the post-war era?Britain's persistent impulse to punch well above its weight in the world and the secrecy that has too often surrounded state affairs.</p><p>In <I>Distilling the Frenzy</I> a heavyweight of British scholarship lays bear the historian's art for all to see, incorporating elements of autobiography that gives the book a poignancy lacking in other grand historical works. This is the story of Britain's century through the eyes of its most celebrated chronicler.</p><p><B>Peter Hennessy</B> is the Attlee professor of contemporary British history at Queen Mary, University of London.</p><BR></DIV>