Austerity Britain: A World to Build [IMPORT] (Paperback)

~ David Kynaston (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC (March 3, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 0747585407
• ISBN-13: 978-0747585404
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #659,924 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars vox pop history with some perceptive analytical chapters, January 12, 2009

By	Les Fearns "casahistoria.net" (UK) - See all my reviews

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 (***)