As part of a research process with Joseph Rowntree Foundation, M Y Alam spent time interviewing British Pakistani men and gathered their views on issues which are generally prone to misrepresentation elsewhere. Over a period of time these sessions became much more than the usual researcher and research subject kind of relationship. In some cases, they developed into full blown conversations amongst friends.

Made In Bradford compiles a series of transcripts from those conversations and paints a vivid picture of everyday life that reads almost as a counter-narrative to the prevailing direction of current debates. Here, men talk about issues such as forced marriage, drugs and criminality, employment, racism, political representation, the fallout from the London bombings, faith and freedom, along with the notion of home and belonging. The openness within the texts is a refreshing antidote to the recent, more widespread and shameful stigmatisation of a people within our own communities. Made In Bradford is an important book of its time.

M Y Alam is the author of two novels, Annie Potts is Dead and Kilo, has had several short stories published and is the editor of Made in Bradford. He is a researcher and teacher at the University of Bradford working in the Department of Social Sciences and Humanities.