David Kynaston

Offers a fresh perspective on Britain during six momentous years (1945-1951). This book features a narrative of how the victorious 1945 Labour government shaped the country's political, economic and social landscape.

Austerity Britain, 1945-1951

Lisa Miller

Despite the density of this book it was a joy to read because it is jam packed full of diary entries and oral history from the everyday man and woman on the street to the rich and famous although to be honest I'm sure a lot of the 'notable' names went over my head. However the book is super dense and there were a few instances where I just scanned the pages rather than read every word. It's interesting because the era between WW2 and the swinging sixties hardly seems to get any attention yet it's clear from this book that it was a revolutionary and transformative era in Britain. It's when socialism took power and created a welfare state: the birth of the NHS, the over haul of the secondary system, the massive investment in state housing - which are all still in place and recognizable today. And the background to all this was the never ending rationing and lack of consumer goods that lasted for years post WW2.