Product Description

Britain since 1945: The People's Peace is the first comprehensive study by a professional historian of British history from 1945 to the present day. It examines the transformation of post-war Britain from the planning enthusiasm of 1945 to the rise of New Labour. Its themes include the troubles of the British economy; public criticism of the legitimacy of the state and its instruments of authority; the co-existence of growing personal prosperity with widespread social inequality; and the debates aroused by decolonization, and Britain's relationship to the Commonwealth, the US and Europe. Changes in cultural life, from the puritanical 'austerity' of the 1940's, through the 'permissiveness' of the 1960s, to the tensions and achievements of recent years are also charted. Using a wide variety of sources, including the records of political parties and the most recently released documents from the Public Records Office, Kenneth Morgan brings the story right up to date and draws comparisons with the post-war history of other nations. This penetrating analysis by a leading twentieth-century historian will prove invaluable to anyone interested in the development of the Britain of today.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #214817 in Books
• Published on: 2001-10-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 648 pages

About the Author
Kenneth O. Morgan is Research Professor, University of Wales, Aberystwyth, and Honorary Fellow of The Queen's College, Oxford. He was Principal, then Vice-chancellor, University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, and Professor in the University of Wales, 1989-95. He was made a Life Peer in April 2000.

Customer Reviews

Outstanding
Very few books will be able to surpass 'The People's Peace' in a review of post-World War Two British history. In terms of both breadth and depth, author Kenneth O. Morgan provides a brilliant account of social, political, economic and cultural developments after 1945. It is extraordinarily detailed and comprehensive in its account of all the significant events in these three areas, but at the same time manages to be readable.

Morgan's real success in this book lies in the fact that all these different strands - social, political, economic and cultural - are all seamlessly woven together in a chronological account, rather than dealt with individually as areas themselves. Consequently, the reader gains an understanding of developments in all these areas in each decade, and, as they progress through the book, readers are able to pick up on changes in these areas. And, because the whole thing is so thorough and brilliantly pieced together, that understanding is truly comprehensive.

Morgan has split the 1945-2001 era up into 3 broad sections: (i) 'The Era of Advance, 1945-61'; (ii) 'The Years of Retreat, 1961-1979'; and (iii) 'Thatcherism and its aftermath, 1979-2001'.

An interesting implication of Morgan's work - though not something he openly states - is that the period from 1945 up to the 1990s was a time of huge upheaval and change for Britain, and that this change resulted in Britain largely becoming a nation at odds with itself. This theme is encapsulated by the cover on this particular edition. However, Morgan - as noted at the end of his concluding chapter - implies that the 1990s saw such divisions iron themselves out, and that Britain was a nation finally at ease with itself...hence the title. Morgan's implication is that the 1990s saw the 'People's Peace' finally being attained. With this particular idea, Morgan has made an important contribution to the debate about Britain's post-1945 history.

If this makes the 'People's Peace' seem complicated, it is not. Such points are only really made by implication as the narrative develops. The main point to pick up is that this an oustanding, highly readable account of a complex and interesting part of our history. Testament to its success is that it is now the standard work for A-level and university courses dealing with post-1945 British history, and at the same time still in print 16 years after the first edition appeared.

A masterly account
An excellent account of the period from 1945 to 2001. Very well written, and a very good balance between the political, the social and the cultural, and between trends and personalities.

There is no over-simplification: while Morgan describes the problems that beset Britain - especially the economic ones which plagued her during her period of decline - he always shows that when times were exceptionally bad, as during the Heath-Wilson-Callaghan years - they were never wholly bad; and when Britain had `never had it so good', as in the Macmillan years, they were actually not as good as they seemed. Above all, he shows that, however despairing many people were at times when Britain appeared `ungovernable', there was never the danger of either revolution or dictatorship.