In the spirit of Braudel, who asserts that ‘the Mediterranean speaks with many voices; it is a sum of individual histories’, this book endeavours to allow the people of the early modern Mediterranean to be heard more than one can find in any other study till now, and strives to cast all its major themes in a new light. I still cringe when I think about that piece and the impact on my prospects for getting work in Manchester were as drastic as they were for Martin. When the author arrived from the south to study at the university in 1979, the city centre economy was on its knees. Working as a journalist, a publisher and a ‘PR supremo’, he has observed the vast changes wrought by local councils, national governments, quangos and institutions, as well as the people of Manchester – and Salford – themselves.

After university, he founded the arts and listings magazine City Life, before becoming a hyperactively connected diary editor for the Manchester Evening News.Manchester unspun begins in the gloom of a city still bearing the scars of the Second World War and ends among the shiny towers of an aspiring twenty-first-century metropolis.

A sympathetic property consultant tells him: “Gary very much values the views of his consultants – as long as they agree with his own. Welcome to Manchester, or “Manc-hattan”, as some now like to describe it with a certain degree of ambivalence. His remarkable account traces Manchester's gradual emergence from its post-industrial malaise, centring on the legendary nightclub the Haçienda and the cultural renaissance it inspired. Finance is provided by PayPal Credit (a trading name of PayPal UK Ltd, Whittaker House, Whittaker Avenue, Richmond-Upon-Thames, Surrey, United Kingdom, TW9 1EH).The Financial Times and its journalism are subject to a self-regulation regime under the FT Editorial Code of Practice. I gave, what I thought at the time, was a pretty balanced account, lots of positives but also a few negatives. The owners were bust and the mortgage bank in possession was bust – and that was the time for gut feeling and decisive action. For forty years he has been an observer, a confessor, an influencer, a player and most importantly of all, a peerless chronicler. He became entranced by the possibilities of Smithfield Buildings, an entire city block further up Oldham Street, and its potential for characterful apartments.

Facebook sets this cookie to show relevant advertisements to users by tracking user behaviour across the web, on sites that have Facebook pixel or Facebook social plugin.

Ethical systems characterised by detailed rules – Islamic sharia and Christian casuistry are notable examples – have often been dismissed as empty formalism or as the instrument of social control.