DDC/MDS
| 942.083 |
Publication
Oxford : Clarendon press, 1965.
Original publication date
1965
Description
This book begins on 4 August 1914, the day Britain entered the 'Great War', and describes the three decades of unparalleled upheaval and change up to the defeat of Japan in 1945, which marked the end of the Second World War.Twin themes of international conflict and mass unemployment in England predominate - besides giving a full account of foreign and domestic politics which were elaborated to deal with them, Taylor also pays particular attention to the impact of events on everyday lives.This book is an essential work from one of the finest historians of the twentieth century, which no one interested in the affairs of the UK will want to be without.
Status
Available
Call number
Collection
User reviews
LibraryThing member cappybear
A good many books have been written about this period of British history since Taylor's first appeared in the shops, but this author's lively and sometimes controversial account shouldn't be overlooked. I found his explanation of the causes of the General Strike easier to understand than some I
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have read - Roy Hattersley take note - and his surprisingly sympathetic portrait of Neville Chamberlain puts a different slant on Munich, appeasement, and the man in general. On the minus side, there are an awful lot of footnotes, not all of them relevant, but I got used to them after a while; and as we witness the decline of Britain from empire state to poor relation of the USA, Taylor's final optimistic note for the future doesn't quite ring true. Nevertheless, still worth a read. Show Less
LibraryThing member sloopjonb
This is the book that taught me what writing about history could be. Discursive, opinionated, and entertaining, Professor Taylor leads us through the history of England between and during two world wars in his own inimitable style, culminating in the last, glorious, uplifting paragraph, expressive
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of an optimism long gone. Show Less
Physical description
xxvii, 708 p.; 23 cm