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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Facinating,
By Maryevelyn "a reader" (St. Charles, IL) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Morbid Age - Britain Between the Wars (Hardcover)
I read this book straight through almost without a break. Yes it is largely concerned with the left, i.e. "progressives," and I have no love for progressivism so-called. But I learned a great deal that I didn't previously know before. Apparently after WWI there was a terrible belief in Britain that Western Civilization was on the verge of collapse. This was a belief that cut across all classes of society and there was according to Overy no rational explanation for it. That in fact during the interwar years that for those who had jobs the standard of living improved over the pre-war years. There was large scale unemployment. But Britain didn't suffer a Great Depression as in the U.S but a recession, which they called the "slump." There is a lot in this book but one thing I'm going to point out especially--eugenics. There was in Britain the idea that the "race" was deteriorating and had to be improved. The mentally "unfit" should be required to practice birth control or be required voluntarily or otherwise to undergo sterilization. Some even thought they should be euthanized as was done in Hitler's Germany. These fears also appeared in the U.S and quite a few states passed sterilization laws. Those who were "unfit" included the mentally retarded, the insane, alcoholics, woman who had sex before they were married,(many of these women were locked up in institutions,) criminals. Fortunately Parliment refused to pass a sterilization bill. There is more to it than this and all of it is repugnant. This is one of the most interesting history books I have ever read. It is cultural history which is why Overy cites the important books and pamphlets that were published and the number of copies sold which proves how widespread the psychic malaise was cutting across all party and class lines and not just a phenomena of academics and intellectuals.
5 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Gloomy,
By
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This review is from: The Morbid Age - Britain Between the Wars (Hardcover)
This cultural history, while at times plodding to read, will be of interest to those who wish to make sense of the public mood in England during the two decades between the world wars.
Professor Richard Overy's book focuses on the political left and intelligentsia (pretty much one and the same thing.) While the reasoning behind his frequent forays into revealing the cheap price and specific number of issued political books and pamphlets is lost on me, I did find helpful Professor Overy's explanation of the important impact of the Spanish Civil War on English pacifists. Analysis on how Germany and the USSR were viewed during these decades was also of interest to me. In addition, other sections of the book provide worthwhile material, such as on the failure of science, whether Freud's work or eugenics, to solve deeply felt national problems and an in-depth description of the period's peace movements. While I do not doubt that there was much confusion and angst in England between 1920 and 1940, it seems to me Professor Overy does not do justice to the many who led normal, happy lives during this period. And it is incomprehensible that a history of this period, which can speak readily of the influence of politicians like Neville Chamberlain and Stafford Cripps, provides only one glancing reference to Winston Churchill.
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