Given the people he’s rubbed shoulders with along the way there’s a surprising lack of ego as Spinoza recounts a string of personal encounters and anecdotes over five decades. After establishing his own PR firm, he became involved in some of the city’s major building projects, and witnessed overblown design disasters such as the ill-conceived Urbis building play out at first-hand. The owners were bust and the mortgage bank in possession was bust – and that was the time for gut feeling and decisive action. When the article came out each of the positive points made by the other contributors was juxtaposed with a negative repost from myself.

Read more about the condition New: A new, unread, unused book in perfect condition with no missing or damaged pages.

He was launching his book the Reluctant Engineer and other Manchester Stories but talked slightly too freely, managing to upset the city’s leadership. He is someone who not only had a seat at the table throughout most of the events he recounts, but was responsible for writing the press release. From "Madchester" and the Haçienda to United and City, political intrigue and controversial property deals, Andy Spinoza reveals the inside story of modern Manchester. He has had a front row seat for over forty years on how pop culture, property development and politics converge in the UK's fastest-growing urban centre. Whichever format you pick, the sample is from Kindle, where the print is larger and the photos clearer, which makes it hard to judge.

Back at Civic Engineers’ reception last week it was appropriate that we should be talking about the book because it includes the origin story of the practice. It starts in a monochrome world of bomb sites and derelict warehouses and gradually turns from sepia into the full technicolour wonderland it presents today.

He came to study at Manchester University in 1983 and was soon selling posters in the student union’s markets. In his new book Manchester Unspun, Spinoza introduces us to the architects of the city’s transformation from “post-industrial malaise” to a thriving hub of music, culture and football.

Some years ago, when a national newspaper editor headed north to view the property boom that is transforming Manchester’s city centre and its skyline, Andrew Spinoza was entrusted with the job of tour guide. The author draws the “key players” in the rebirth of modern Manchester with a vividness that might have eluded a conventional historian. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. First as observer, then as participant, Andy has enjoyed a ring-side seat in the renaissance and development of Britain's most exciting city. We'd like to send you details on events, news, homes and workspaces you might be interested in from Urban Splash and our partners.He became entranced by the possibilities of Smithfield Buildings, an entire city block further up Oldham Street, and its potential for characterful apartments. Its centre was depopulated, decaying, and in violent pockets of its former industrial core, dangerous to visit. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average.