Family Britain 1951 1957

Author : David Kynaston
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Page : 717 pages
File Size : 41,7 Mb
Release : 2010-12-01
Category : History
ISBN : 9780802719645

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Family Britain, 1951-1957 by David Kynaston Pdf

As in his highly acclaimed Austerity Britain, David Kynaston invokes an astonishing array of vivid, intimate and unselfconscious voices to drive his narrative of 1950s Britain. The keen-eyed Nella Last shops assiduously at Barrow Market as austerity and rationing gradually give way to relative abundance; housewife Judy Haines, relishing the detail of suburban life, brings up her children in Chingford; the self-absorbed civil servant Henry St John perfects the art of grumbling. These and many other voices give a rich, unsentimental picture of everyday life in the 1950s. Well-known figures are encountered on the way, such as Doris Lessing (joining and later leaving the Communist Party), John Arlott (sticking up on Any Questions? for the rights of homosexuals) and Tiger's Roy of the Rovers (making his goal-scoring debut for Melchester). All this is part of a colourful, unfolding tapestry, in which the great national events - the Tories returning to power, the death of George VI, the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth, the Suez Crisis - jostle alongside everything that gave Britain in the 1950s its distinctive flavour: Butlin's holiday camps, Kenwood food mixers, Hancock's Half-Hour, Ekco television sets, Davy Crockett, skiffle and teddy boys. Deeply researched, David Kynaston's Family Britain offers an unrivalled take on a largely cohesive, ordered, still very hierarchical society gratefully starting to move away from the painful hardships of the 1940s towards domestic ease and affluence.

Author : David Kynaston
Publisher : A&C Black
Page : 785 pages
File Size : 47,6 Mb
Release : 2009-11-02
Category : History
ISBN : 9781408803493

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Family Britain, 1951-1957 by David Kynaston Pdf

Family Britain continues David Kynaston's groundbreaking series Tales of a New Jerusalem, telling as never before the story of Britain from VE Day in 1945 to the election of Margaret Thatcher in 1979. 'The book is a marvel ... the level of detail is precise and fascinating' Sunday Telegraph 'A wonderfully illuminating picture of the way we were' The Times As in Austerity Britain, an astonishing array of vivid, intimate and unselfconscious voices drive the narrative. The keen-eyed Nella Last shops assiduously at Barrow Market as austerity and rationing gradually give way to relative abundance; housewife Judy Haines, relishing the detail of suburban life, brings up her children in Chingford; the self-absorbed civil servant Henry St John perfects the art of grumbling. These and many other voices give a rich, unsentimental picture of everyday life in the 1950s. We also encounter well-known figures on the way, such as Doris Lessing (joining and later leaving the Communist Party), John Arlott (sticking up on Any Questions? for the rights of homosexuals) and Tiger's Roy of the Rovers (making his goal-scoring debut for Melchester). All this is part of a colourful, unfolding tapestry, in which the great national events - the Tories returning to power, the death of George VI, the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth, the Suez Crisis - jostle alongside everything that gave Britain in the 1950s its distinctive flavour: Butlin's holiday camps, Kenwood food mixers, Hancock's Half-Hour, Ekco television sets, Davy Crockett, skiffle and teddy boys. Deeply researched, David Kynaston's Family Britain offers an unrivalled take on a largely cohesive, ordered, still very hierarchical society gratefully starting to move away from the painful hardships of the 1940s towards domestic ease and affluence.

Author : David Kynaston
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Page : 880 pages
File Size : 41,8 Mb
Release : 2014-12-02
Category : History
ISBN : 9781620408100

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Modernity Britain by David Kynaston Pdf

The late 1950s and early 1960s was a period in its own right-neither the stultifying early to midfifties nor the liberating mid- to late-sixties-and an action-packed, dramatic time in which the contours of modern Britain started to take shape. These were the “never had it so good” years, in which mass affluence began to change, fundamentally, the tastes and even the character of the working class; when films like Saturday Night and Sunday Morning and TV soaps like Coronation Street and Z Cars at last brought that class to the center of the national frame; when Britain gave up its empire; when economic decline relative to France and Germany became the staple of political discourse; when “youth” emerged as a fully fledged cultural force; when the Notting Hill riots made race and immigration an inescapable reality; when a new breed of meritocrats came through; and when the Lady Chatterley trial, followed by the Profumo scandal, at last signaled the end of Victorian morality. David Kynaston argues that a deep and irresistible modernity zeitgeist was at work, in these and many other ways, and he reveals as never before how that spirit of the age unfolded, with consequences that still affect us today.

Author : David Kynaston
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Page : 705 pages
File Size : 50,5 Mb
Release : 2010-12-01
Category : History
ISBN : 9780802779588

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Austerity Britain, 1945-1951 by David Kynaston Pdf

As much as any country, England bore the brunt of Germany's aggression in World War II, and was ravaged in many ways at the war's end. Celebrated historian David Kynaston has written an utterly original, and compellingly readable, account of the following six years, during which the country rebuilt itself. Kynaston's great genius is to chronicle the country's experience from bottom to top: coursing through through the book, therefore, is an astonishing variety of ordinary, contemporary voices, eloquently and passionately evincing the country's remarkable spirit. Judy Haines, a Chingford housewife, gamely endures the tribulations of rationing; Mary King, a retired schoolteacher in Birmingham, observes how well-fed the Queen looks during a royal visit; Henry St. John, a persnickety civil servant in Bristol, is oblivious to anyone's troubles but his own. Together they present a portrait of an indomitable people and Kynaston skillfully links their stories to bigger events thought the country. Their stories also jostle alongside those of more well-known figures like celebrated journalist-to-be John Arlott (making his first radio broadcast), Glenda Jackson, and Doris Lessing, newly arrived from Africa and struck by the leveling poverty of post-war Britain. Kynaston deftly weaves into his story a sophisticated narrative of how the 1945 Labour government shaped the political, economic, and social landscape for the next three decades.

Author : David Kynaston
Publisher : A&C Black
Page : 434 pages
File Size : 45,8 Mb
Release : 2013-07-09
Category : History
ISBN : 9780747588931

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Modernity Britain by David Kynaston Pdf

Following Austerity Britain and Family Britain, the third and fulcrum volume in David Kynaston's landmark social history of post-war Britain.

Author : David Kynaston
Publisher : Bloomsbury Paperbacks
Page : 420 pages
File Size : 53,8 Mb
Release : 2008
Category : History
ISBN : UOM:39015077117029

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Smoke in the Valley, 1948-51 by David Kynaston Pdf

Continuing his groundbreaking series about post-war Britain, Kynaston presents a breathtaking portrait of our nation through eyewitness accounts, newspapers of the time and previously unpublished diaries. Drawing on the everyday experiences of people from all walks of life, Smoke in the Valley covers the length and breadth of the country to tell its story. This is an unsurpassed social history- intensely evocative to those who were there and eye-opening for their children and grandchildren.

Author : Peter Hennessy
Publisher : Penguin UK
Page : 695 pages
File Size : 52,9 Mb
Release : 2007-05-03
Category : History
ISBN : 9780141929316

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Having it So Good by Peter Hennessy Pdf

Winner of the Orwell Prize for Political Writing, Peter Hennessy's Having it So Good: Britain in the Fifties captures Britain in an extraordinary decade, emerging from the shadow of war into growing affluence. The 1950s was the decade in which Roger Bannister ran the four-minute mile, Bill Haley released 'Rock Around the Clock', rationing ended and Britain embarked on the traumatic, disastrous Suez War. In this highly enjoyable, original book, Peter Hennessy takes his readers into front rooms, classrooms, cabinet rooms and the new high-street coffee bars of Britain to recapture, as no previous history has, the feel, the flavour and the politics of this extraordinary time of change. 'Utterly engaging ... a treat. It breathes exhilaration' Libby Purves, The Times 'If the Gods gossip, this is how it would sound' Philip Ziegler, Spectator Books of the Year 'A particular treat ... fine, wise and meticulously researched' Andrew Marr 'Stands clear of the field as our best narrative history of this decisive decade' Peter Clarke, Sunday Times 'A compelling narrative ... Hennessy's love of the flesh and blood of politics breathes on every page' Tim Gardam, Observer 'The late Ben Pimlott once described Hennessy as "something of a national institution". You can forget the first two of those five words' Guardian

Author : David Kynaston
Publisher : Bloomsbury Paperbacks
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 54,6 Mb
Release : 2008
Category : Great Britain
ISBN : 0747585407

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A World to Build by David Kynaston Pdf

The first book in the groundbreaking series Tales of a New Jerusalem, A World to Build transports us effortlessly back to 1945. Through this candid collection of contemporary voices, the country s post-war social history is unveiled; no supermarkets, no teabags, capital punishment, levelling poverty. Meet Judy Haines, a Chingford housewife, struggling daily with food rationing; Henry St. John, a self-serving civil servant in Bristol; Doris Lessing, newly arrived from Africa to a country pre-multiculturalism. David Kynaston expertly weaves the histories of ordinary people and well-known figures alongside Britain's changing political and economic landscape, delivering a deeply researched and intensely readable account.

Author : David Kynaston
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
Page : 897 pages
File Size : 43,7 Mb
Release : 2017-09-07
Category : History
ISBN : 9781408868584

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Till Time's Last Sand by David Kynaston Pdf

____________________ The authorised history of the Bank of England by the bestselling David Kynaston, 'the most entertaining historian alive' (Spectator). 'Kynaston's aim is to provide a history of the Bank for the general reader and in this he triumphantly succeeds, providing a worthy complement to the notable series of books on different periods of the Bank's history ... wonderfully readable' Financial Times 'Not an ordinary bank, but a great engine of state,' Adam Smith declared of the Bank of England as long ago as 1776. The Bank is now over 320 years old, and throughout almost all that time it has been central to British history. Yet to most people, despite its increasingly high profile, its history is largely unknown. Till Time's Last Sand by David Kynaston is the first authoritative and accessible single-volume history of the Bank of England, opening with the Bank's founding in 1694 in the midst of the English financial revolution and closing in 2013 with Mark Carney succeeding Mervyn King as Governor. This is a history that fully addresses the important debates over the years about the Bank's purpose and modes of operation and that covers such aspects as monetary and exchange-rate policies and relations with government, the City and other central banks. Yet this is also a narrative that does full justice to the leading episodes and characters of the Bank, while taking care to evoke a real sense of the place itself, with its often distinctively domestic side. Deploying an array of piquant and revealing material from the Bank's rich archives, Till Time's Last Sand is a multi-layered and insightful portrait of one of our most important national institutions, from one of our leading historians. ____________________ 'The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street has been waiting for a biographer who could do justice to the richness of her story ... This is the work of a scholar with a gift for illuminating every square inch of each enormous canvas he chooses to paint ... Kynaston brings characters large and small to life' Literary Review 'full of human detail ... an exemplary narrative history, with the archives plundered judiciously and plenty of focus on people and their quirks ... rendered on an entertainingly human scale' The Times 'A triumph ... this portrait of the Bank of England really is fascinating, at times even gripping' Sunday Telegraph

Author : David Kynaston
Publisher : Random House
Page : 732 pages
File Size : 49,5 Mb
Release : 2011-12-31
Category : History
ISBN : 9781448114726

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City of London by David Kynaston Pdf

David Kynaston's ground-breaking history of the City of London, published in four volumes between 1994 and 2001, is a modern classic. Skilfully edited into a single volume by David Milner, it tells a story as dramatic as any novel, while explaining the mysteries of the financial world in a way that we can all understand. This is a story of booms, busts and bankruptcies, dress codes, eating habits, pay, humour, changing architecture and the unique culture of the Square Mile which brings us up to the modern age.

Author : Dominic Sandbrook
Publisher : Penguin UK
Page : 992 pages
File Size : 49,7 Mb
Release : 2012-04-19
Category : History
ISBN : 9781846146275

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Seasons in the Sun by Dominic Sandbrook Pdf

Dominic Sandbrook's magnificent account of the late 1970s in Britain - the book behind the major BB2 series The Seventies In this gloriously colourful book, Dominic Sandbrook recreates the extraordinary period of the late 1970s in all its chaos and contradiction, revealing it as a decisive point in our recent history. Across the country, a profound argument about the future of the nation was being played out, not just in families and schools but in everything from episodes of Doctor Who to singles by the Clash. These years saw the peak of trade union power and the apogee of an old working-class Britain - but also the birth of home computers, the rise of the ready meal and the triumph of the Grantham grocer's daughter who would change our history forever. Reviews: 'Magnificent ... if you lived through the late Seventies - or, for that matter, even if you didn't - don't miss this book' Mail on Sunday 'Sandbrook has created a specific style of narrative history, blending high politics, social change and popular culture ... always readable and assured ... Anyone who genuinely believes we have never been so badly governed should read this splendid book' Stephen Robinson, Sunday Times '[Sandbrook] has a remarkable ability to turn a sow's ear into a sulk purse. His subject is depressing, but the book itself is a joy ... [it] benefits from an exceptional cast of characters ... As a storyteller, Sandbrook is, without doubt, superb ... [he] is an engaging history capable of impressive insight ... When discussing politics, Sandbrook is masterful ... Seasons in the Sun is a familiar story, yet seldom has it been told with such verve' Gerard DeGroot, Seven 'A brilliant historian ... I had never fully appreciated what a truly horrible period it was until reading Sandbrook ... You can see all these strange individuals - Thatcher, Rotten, Larkin, Benn - less as free agents expressing their own thoughts, than as the inevitable consequence of the economic and political decline which Sandbrook so skilfully depicts' A. N. Wilson, Spectator 'Nuanced ... Sandbrook has rummaged deep into the cultural life of the era to remind us how rich it was, from Bowie to Dennis Potter, Martin Amis to William Golding' Damian Whitworth, The Times 'Sharply and fluently written ... entertaining ... By making you quite nostalgic for the present, Sandbrook has done a public service' Evening Standard About the author: Born in Shropshire ten days before the October 1974 election, Dominic Sandbrook was educated at Oxford, St Andrews and Cambridge. He is the author of three hugely acclaimed books on post-war Britain: Never Had It So Good, White Heat and State of Emergency, and two books on modern American history, Eugene McCarthy and Mad as Hell. A prolific reviewer and columnist, he writes regularly for the Sunday Times, Daily Mail, New Statesman and BBC History.

Author : Richard Austen Butler Baron Butler of Saffron Walden
Publisher : Gambit Publications
Page : 314 pages
File Size : 53,8 Mb
Release : 1972
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : WISC:89099047672

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The Art of the Possible by Richard Austen Butler Baron Butler of Saffron Walden Pdf

Author : David Kynaston
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
Page : 259 pages
File Size : 53,9 Mb
Release : 2022-08-04
Category : Great Britain
ISBN : 9781526632005

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On the Cusp by David Kynaston Pdf

'Glorious ... It's rare to read anything so teeming with life' SPECTATOR, Books of the Year'This is Kynaston at his best ... A rich and vivid picture of a nation in all its human complexity' IAN JACK'A compulsive read ... Generous as well as sharp' MARGARET DRABBLE'I was captivated by its brilliance' D. J. TAYLOR__________________The 'real' Sixties began on 5 October 1962. On that remarkable Friday, the Beatles hit the world with their first single, 'Love Me Do', and the first James Bond film, Dr No, had its world premiere in London: two icons of the future heralding a social and cultural revolution.On the Cusp, continuing David Kynaston's groundbreaking history of post-war Britain, takes place during the summer and early autumn of 1962, in the charged months leading up to the moment that a country changed. The Rolling Stones' debut at the Marquee Club, the last Gentlemen versus Players match at Lord's, the issue of Britain's relationship with Europe starting to divide the country, Telstar the satellite beaming live TV pictures across the world, 'Telstar' the record a siren call to a techno future - these were months thick with incident, all woven together here with an array of fresh contemporary sources, including diarists both famous and obscure.Britain would never be the same again after these months. Sometimes indignant, sometimes admiring, always empathetic, On the Cusp evokes a world of seaside holidays, of church fetes, of Steptoe andSon - a world still of seemingly settled social and economic certainties, but in fact on the edge of fundamental change.___________________'Sparkles with voices from a vanished world ... An entrancing representation, full of exquisite detail' KATE WILLIAMS'What a joy it has been to find myself wholly immersed in the richness of Kynaston's account ... Thrilling' JULIET NICOLSON

Author : Peter Hennessy
Publisher : Penguin UK
Page : 499 pages
File Size : 40,8 Mb
Release : 2019-09-05
Category : History
ISBN : 9781846147241

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Winds of Change by Peter Hennessy Pdf

Following Never Again and Having It So Good, the third part of Peter Hennessy's celebrated Post-War Trilogy 'By far the best study of early Sixties Britain ... so much fun, yet still shrewd and important' The Times, Books of the Year Harold Macmillan famously said in 1960 that the wind of change was blowing over Africa and the remaining British Empire. But it was blowing over Britain too - its society; its relationship with Europe; its nuclear and defence policy. And where it was not blowing hard enough - the United Kingdom's economy - great efforts were made to sweep away the cobwebs of old industrial practices and poor labour relations. Life was lived in the knowledge that it could end in a single afternoon of thermonuclear exchange if the uneasy, armed peace of the Cold War tipped into a Third World War. In Winds of Change we see Macmillan gradually working out his 'grand design' - how to be part of both a tight transatlantic alliance and Europe, dealing with his fellow geostrategists Kennedy and de Gaulle. The centre of the book is 1963 - the year of the Profumo Crisis, the Great Train Robbery, the satire boom, de Gaulle's veto of Britain's first application to join the EEC, the fall of Macmillan and the unexpected succession to the premiership of Alec Douglas-Home. Then, in 1964, the battle of what Hennessy calls the tweedy aristocrat and the tweedy meritocrat - Harold Wilson, who would end 13 years of Conservative rule and usher in a new era. As in his acclaimed histories of British life in the two previous decades, Never Again and Having it so Good, Peter Hennessy explains the political, economic, cultural and social aspects of a nation with inimitable wit and empathy. No historian knows the by-ways as well the highways of the archives so well, and no one conveys the flavour of the period so engagingly. The early sixties live again in these pages.

Author : Brian Harrison
Publisher : OUP Oxford
Page : 688 pages
File Size : 49,6 Mb
Release : 2009-03-26
Category : History
ISBN : 9780191606786

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Seeking a Role by Brian Harrison Pdf

In this, the first of two self-standing volumes bringing The New Oxford History of England up to the present, Brian Harrison begins in 1951 with much of the empire intact and with Britain enjoying high prestige in Europe. The United Kingdom could still then claim to be a great power, whose welfare state exemplified compromise between Soviet planning and the USA’s free market. When the volume ends in 1970, no such claims carried conviction. The empire had gone, central planning was in trouble, and even the British political system had become controversial. In an unusually wide-ranging, yet impressively detailed volume, Harrison approaches the period from unfamiliar directions. He explains how British politicians in the 1950s and 1960s responded to this transition by pursuing successive roles for Britain: worldwide as champion of freedom, and in Europe as exemplar of parliamentary government, the multi-racial society, and economic planning. His main focus, though, rests not on the politicians but on the decisions the British people made largely for themselves: on their environment, social structure and attitudes, race relations, family patterns, economic framework, and cultural opportunities. By 1970 the consumer society had supplanted postwar austerity, the socialist vision was fading, and 'the sixties' (the theme of his penultimate chapter) had introduced new and even exotic themes and values. Having lost an empire, Britain was still resourcefully seeking a role: it had yet to find it.