David Kynaston's "Austerity Britain 1945-51", the first book in his series "Tales of a New Jerusalem", was a major "Sunday Times" bestseller in 2007. Here is the first volume from this landmark book covering 1945-48. Beginning his groundbreaking series about post-war Britain, Kynaston presents our nation through the eyes of those who lived there. Meet Judy Haines, a Chingford housewife, struggling daily with food rationing; Henry St. John, a self-serving civil servant in Bristol; and, the young Glenda Jackson, taking her 11-plus. Using mass observation, diaries, letters, newspapers and magazines from the time, "A World to Build" is an unsurpassed social history: intensely evocative to those who were there and eye-opening for their children and grandchildren.
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
'A wonderfully illuminating picture of the way we were' The Times 'The book is a marvel ... the fullest, deepest and most balanced history of our times' Sunday Telegraph 'Multi-layered, embroidered with great richness of detail ... Austerity Britain kicks off a series that will end in 1979. What a treat we have in store' Craig Brown's Book of the Week, Mail on Sunday 'There can be no doubt that this book is both a history and a triumphant work of art ... unputdownable' Observer
About the Author
David Kynaston was born in Aldershot in 1951. He has been a professional historian since 1973 and has written fifteen books, including The City of London (1994-2001), a widely acclaimed four-volume history, and W.G.'s Birthday Party, an account of the Gentleman vs. the Players at Lord's in July 1898. He is currently a visiting professor at Kingston University.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
vox pop history with some perceptive analytical chapters,
This review is from: Austerity Britain: a World to Build (Paperback)
A mixture of Vox Pop (through the reports of the innovative Mass Observation reports of the time & diarists - often the self selecting celebs of then and now) and analysis. Very comprehensive - this covers 1945-47 only - but at times perhaps too much so, leading to a desire to skim in places. I found the analysis chapters more interesting than the ones populated by witness quotes. Most intriguing was the chapter on the ideas behind state nationalisation - I had not realised the degree to which this was seen as a top down model with no real consideration given to the value or necessity of any employer participation. In most cases existing managers were kept in control. (One other point: did it always rain then? By chance the photos mostly appear to have been taken on damp, dark rainy days. As if the time was not depressing enough...) Nov '08 (***)
4.0 out of 5 stars
A World to Build,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Austerity Britain: a World to Build (Paperback)
This is another in the historian's penetrating narratives and analyses of the late World War II and immediate post-war years in Britain. Insightful, accurate, and easy to read for both the historian and the curious. I lived through this period in England and can personally testify to the accuracy of his findings.This book is recommended for the reader who wants to dig beneath the surface and anectdotal evidence to find out what it was really like.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product).
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
