Product Description

Almost continuously in print for 40 years, The Deluge is widely recognised as one of the classics of post-1960 British historical writing, and as the book which initiated the systematic study of the social consequences of modern war. Arthur Marwick describes life on the home front during the first total war in history, analysing the social changes that made Britain of the 1920s a vastly different place from the Britain that went to war in 1914. Comprehensive, precisely documented, full of colourful detail and apt quotations, The Deluge portrays a society in transition at every level. This reissued second edition features a new contextualising Preface by leading historian Joanna Bourke. Bourke considers how Marwick's work engaged with contemporary debates and examines why it was so significant - and even controversial - when it was first published. Authoritative and insightful, the Preface helps to reinforce and explain the continued importance of Marwick's work and its relevance to students of History today.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #226960 in Books
• Published on: 2006-07-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 392 pages

Review
Praise for the book when it first appeared in 1965: 'Mr Marwick has ingeniously discovered a new approach: away from strategy and battles to the home front. He draws efficiently on the abundant sources, from memoirs to official papers, and brings them together in a clear narrative.' - A.J.P. Taylor, Observer 'He writes well, without over-writing; the result is a piece of social history, well conceived and well executed, which deserves the rank as a permanent addition to the historical literature of the First World War.' - Max Beloff, The Listener

About the Author
ARTHUR MARWICK is Emeritus Professor of History at The Open University, UK. His many publications include War and Social Change in the Twentieth Century (1974), British Society Since 1945 (expanded edition 1990) and The New Nature of History (2001, also published by Palgrave Macmillan).

Customer Reviews

War and British Politics and Society
This is the reissued second edition of Marwick's classic work concerning the effects of the First World War upon British society and politics.

There has been a considerable debate among historians concerning how far, exactly when and why the state was led into intervening in daily life in Britian as a result of the war - this book is an invaulable contribution to this debate. For the general reader, it helps to explain why Britian was so redically changed by the First World War and feeds into other historical debates, for instance the reasons why the British Liberal Party declined.

The book was first issued a generation ago and although the second edition (upon which this book is based) brings to light some newer historical research, one does feel that, in some ways, it is important as one of the major contributions to the effect of the First World War upon Britain, rather than a definitive study. Helpfully, the new introduction discusses the place of Marwick's work in the context of the wider debate and suggests the areas in which Marwick's work is most valuable and where later research has taken the debate further.

Whoa heavy
A good read in terms of acedemic study, but very heavy going, not something to buy unless you are studying the subjects it covers, mainly social change during the first world war.

Indispensable
The importance of this work is summed up in its title "The deluge". Marwick's thesis is that the first world war transformed British society forever. He especially concentrates, which is refreshing, on the life of ordinary people, and not on the details of military operations.

Not to be missed, in my humble opinion. A useful counterweight to recent books which have attempted to defend British military leaders, and to dismiss questions of social inequality.