People Like Us: What it Takes to Make it in Modern Britain

By Hashi Mohamed Profile Books, 320pp, £16.99

Hashi Mohamed’s

People Like Us

casts a judgemental eye over social mobility in Britain today. Race, class, confidence and language are all considered along with Mohamed’s own experiences, as the successful barrister tells the story of how he transformed his life after coming to Britain as a refugee fleeing the Somali civil war. The author uses a potent mixture of personal anecdotes and findings from social studies to highlight the improbability of his success. Conscientious teachers, CVS landing on the right desks and a string of bold moves from Mohamed himself made the difference, but the statistics appear stacked against the large majority of the working class. Mohamed also argues that the immigrant and BAME experience compounds the stifling conditions many in Britain find themselves in when looking to “better themselves.” The stark reality, however, is offset by Mohamed’s optimism: “Society has never been more aware of the issues being explored in this book,” he writes, “there has never been a moment more ripe to make the most of it.”