Austerity Britain, 1945-1951
by David Kynaston
- Used
- very good
- Paperback
- Condition
- Very Good
- ISBN 10
- 0747599238
- ISBN 13
- 9780747599234
- Seller
-
Middlebury, Vermont, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
London: Bloomsbury, 2008. reprint. Softcover. Very Good. Softcover, 692 pages. Coursing through Austerity Britain is an astonishing variety of voices - vivid, unselfconscious, and unaware of what the future holds. A Chingford housewife endures the tribulations of rationing; a retired schoolteacher observes during a royal visit how well-fed the Queen looks; a pernickety civil servant in Bristol is oblivious to anyone's troubles but his own. An array of working-class witnesses describe how life in post-war Britain is, with little regard for liberal niceties or the feelings of their 'betters'. Many of these voices will stay with the reader in future volumes, jostling alongside well-known figures like John Arlott (here making his first radio broadcast, still in police uniform), Glenda Jackson (taking the 11+) and Doris Lessing, newly arrived from Africa, struck by the levelling poverty of postwar Britain. David Kynaston weaves a sophisticated narrative of how the victorious 1945 Labour government shaped the political, economic and social landscape for the next three decades.Deeply researched, often amusing and always intensely entertaining and readable, the first volume of David Kynaston's ambitious history offers an entirely fresh perspective on Britain during those six momentous years. Clean copy. Record # 382184
Synopsis
"Austerity Britain comprises A world to build and Smoke in the valley, the first two books of Tales of a New Jerusalem, a projected sequence about Britain between 1945 and 1979"--Pref. "First published in Great Britain by Bloomsbury in 2007"--T.p. verso. Includes bibliographical references and index.
Reviews
On Nov 20 2014, a reader said:
The six years after World War II saw Britain undertake a dramatic transformation in the relationship between government, the economy, and society. Under the direction of a Labour government, Britain embarked upon a program of economic nationalization and the creation of a new welfare state. David Kynaston's book, the first in a series chronicling postwar Britain, provides a history of the nation during this period of transformation. Drawing upon an enormous range of published and unpublished accounts, he assembles them into a brilliant mosaic chronicling life during those years, as Britain struggled to fulfill the expectations for a better nation while coping with the costs of a debilitating war. His book is a dramatic achievement that illuminates the past by highlighting the very different world in which Britons lived while identifying the forces that would transform it into the nation that exists today. The result is a marvelous achievement, one that should be read by anyone interested in British history or even just a good nonfiction read.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Browsing Is Arousing (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 382184
- Title
- Austerity Britain, 1945-1951
- Author
- David Kynaston
- Format/Binding
- Softcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Very Good
- Edition
- reprint
- Binding
- Paperback
- ISBN 10
- 0747599238
- ISBN 13
- 9780747599234
- Publisher
- Bloomsbury
- Place of Publication
- London
- Date Published
- 2008
- Keywords
- Countries, England, , .
Terms of Sale
Browsing Is Arousing
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About the Seller
Browsing Is Arousing
Biblio member since 2021
Middlebury, Vermont
About Browsing Is Arousing
From the founders of "Monroe Street Books", "Browsing is Arousing" is a strictly on-line antiquarian, rare, out-of-print & used books store. Our wide-range of inventory includes: Art, Children's Picture and Chapter, Exploration, Fiction, History, Illustrated, Literature, Mystery, Science Fiction, Photography, Performing Arts, Regional, Sciences and Sports.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Reprint
- Any printing of a book which follows the original edition. By definition, a reprint is not a first edition.