Join Amazon Prime and get unlimited Free One-Day Delivery. Already a member? Sign in.

 

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
   
More Buying Choices
34 used & new from £0.01
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Austerity Britain: Smoke in the Valley (Tales of a New Jerusalem 2)
 
See larger image 
Share your own customer images
Publisher: learn how customers can search inside this book.

Austerity Britain: Smoke in the Valley (Tales of a New Jerusalem 2) (Paperback)

by David Kynaston (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
RRP: £7.99
Price: £5.99 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £2.00 (25%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
Temporarily out of stock.
Order now and we'll deliver when available. We'll e-mail you with an estimated delivery date as soon as we have more information. Your account will only be charged when we ship the item.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

13 new from £1.61 19 used from £0.01 2 collectible from £2.99

Frequently Bought Together

Austerity Britain: Smoke in the Valley (Tales of a New Jerusalem 2) + Austerity Britain: A World to Build + Austerity Britain, 1945-1951 (Tales of a New Jerusalem)
Price For All Three: £18.57

Some of these items ship sooner than the others. Show details

  • This item: Austerity Britain: Smoke in the Valley (Tales of a New Jerusalem 2) by David Kynaston

    Temporarily out of stock.
    Order now and we'll deliver when available. We'll e-mail you with an estimated delivery date as soon as we have more information. Your account will only be charged when we ship the item.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

  • Austerity Britain: A World to Build by David Kynaston

    In stock.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

  • Austerity Britain, 1945-1951 (Tales of a New Jerusalem) by David Kynaston

    In stock.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Austerity Britain: A World to Build

Austerity Britain: A World to Build

by David Kynaston
3.3 out of 5 stars (3)  £5.99
Austerity Britain, 1945-1951 (Tales of a New Jerusalem)

Austerity Britain, 1945-1951 (Tales of a New Jerusalem)

by David Kynaston
4.5 out of 5 stars (11)  £6.59
Having it So Good: Britain in the Fifties

Having it So Good: Britain in the Fifties

by Peter Hennessy
4.2 out of 5 stars (4)  £7.28
A History of Modern Britain

A History of Modern Britain

by Andrew Marr
4.1 out of 5 stars (43)  £4.99
The Discovery of France

The Discovery of France

by Graham Robb
4.7 out of 5 stars (24)  £5.99
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Paperback: 400 pages
  • Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC (7 Jul 2008)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0747592284
  • ISBN-13: 978-0747592280
  • Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 13 x 3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 62,331 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #72 in  Books > History > Britain & Ireland > Post-war Period, 1946-Present

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Customers Viewing This Page May Be Interested in These Sponsored Links

  (What is this?)
Compare Book Prices:
   www.BooksPrice.co.uk    Austerity Britain, 1945-1951 Find the Lowest Price! 
  
 

Product Description

Review
'A cracking read evocative and entertaining' Daily Telegraph 'Wonderful will surely be one of the greatest and most enduring publishing ventures for generations. It is very hard to praise the author too highly' Observer 'Kynaston's rivetingly enjoyable book has a quality of glorious abundance and plenty' Philip Hensher, Spectator 'As a portrait of an age which shaped much of modern Britain, it is unsurpassed a plum- duff of a book for both the historian and the general reader' Guardian --various

Product Description
David Kynaston's Austerity Britain 1945-51, the first book in his series Tales of a New Jerusalem, was a major Sunday Times bestseller in 2007. Here is the second volume from this landmark book covering 1948-51. 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.

See all Product Description

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
Check the boxes next to the tags you consider relevant or enter your own tags in the field below
(1)
(1)
See all 3 tags...

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Austerity Britain: Smoke in the Valley (Tales of a New Jerusalem 2)
54% buy the item featured on this page:
Austerity Britain: Smoke in the Valley (Tales of a New Jerusalem 2) 4.5 out of 5 stars (2)
£5.99
Austerity Britain, 1945-1951 (Tales of a New Jerusalem)
37% buy
Austerity Britain, 1945-1951 (Tales of a New Jerusalem) 4.5 out of 5 stars (11)
£6.59
Having it So Good: Britain in the Fifties
4% buy
Having it So Good: Britain in the Fifties 4.2 out of 5 stars (4)
£7.28
Austerity Britain: A World to Build
3% buy
Austerity Britain: A World to Build 3.3 out of 5 stars (3)
£5.99
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

2 Reviews
5 star:
 (1)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Revisionist Nostalgia, 23 Jul 2008
By Eugene Onegin (Lincoln England) - See all my reviews
There are few history books which manage to be hugely readable, informative, and thought-provoking at the same time, but David Kynaston has achieved the alchemy brilliantly with this volume. What Peter Hennessey did for political history Kynaston does for social history creating a narrative that is as compelling as it is revealing. The principal sources used here are the Mass Observation Panels, private diaries, and opinion polls painting a picture of Britain which is rounded, convincing, and frequently startling. In understated and beautifully written prose the author goes about demolishing many of the preconceptions that tend to be associated with the period: for instance that the British public were full of idealism and political commitment in welcoming Labour's nationalisation and welfare state programmes or that the deprivations of rationing or devaluation were met with uncomplaining stoicism. What emerges in this work and the companion volume is that the Britons of the 1940's were much closer to their countryman of sixty years later not least in their demand for material comfort, political apathy, obsession with class and unwillingness to embrace change.
The most powerful theme which emerges here as is Hennessey's work is the ludicrous belief in Britain's ability to remain a world and colonial power and the enormous complacency that it bred, ensuring British industry failed to grasp the fleeting opportunity to break into new markets, cut military spending or adopt sensible exchange rates. If you are looking for the root of many our present day problems you could do worse than start here. Yet don't think this is in anyway a dry account heavy on interpretation-nostalgia lovers will find plenty to get their teeth into here as will those who like cultural or sporting snippets: Denis Compton, Stanley Matthews, Frankie Howerd, Tommy Handley, Bruce Woodcock and Dirk Bogarde are to be found in these pages which deserve that rarest of things: an unqualified recommendation to all.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
5 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Meaty stuff, sometimes dry, 29 Jul 2008
By Charles "mrfreedom" (England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)      
David Kynaston's Austerity Britain books offer valuable social history and a timely reminder of mistakes that are made in the past can be repeated in the future.
Unlike, say, Dominic Sandbrook's 1960s books, AB focuses a little more on the industrial side of Britain, the trade unionists and the managers. In fact I felt there was a little too much of this. To be fair though, other walks of life get a look in: the housewife, the international cricketer, the radio star, the returning soldier etc.
One thing you take away is how grim life was back then: smoggy streets with children in rags, ruined buildings etc. But you also realise the mess that the Labour government made of improving things. Apart from the odd notable success, it was an era of a government determined to impose an unsuitable ideology on the British people. The government KNEW they were right about stuff, and boy were they going to let you know this. That's why I say it offers examples of past mistakes and how they shouldn't be repeated - our 2008 government should listen.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

 Beta (What's this?)
This product's forum (0 discussions)
  Discussion Replies Latest Post
  No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
  [Cancel]

   

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Feedback

The Body Shop

The Body Shop - Vitamin C Skin Boost
Protect and boost your glow with The Body Shop Vitamin C Skin Boost.

›Shop The Body Shop

  

Let Olay Amaze You

Olay Total Effects Day Moisturiser SPF15 50ml
Amazon.co.uk sells all your favourite ranges from Olay, including Regenerist and Total Effects.

›Discover Olay at Amazon.co.uk

  

We've Got Converse

Converse
Stock up on your favourite styles with great deals on Converse shoes.

›Shop Converse

  

Treat Someone

Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificates--available in any amount from £5 to £500 With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is).

›Learn more about Gift Certificates

  
Ad

Where's My Stuff?

Delivery and Returns

Need Help?

Your Recent History

  (What's this?)
You have no recently viewed items or searches.

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session.
Continue Shopping: Top Sellers

amazon.co.uk Amazon Home
International Sites:  United States  |  Germany  |  France  |  Japan  |  Canada  |  China
Business Programs: Sell on Amazon  |  Fulfilment by Amazon  |  Join Associates  |  Join Advantage
Customer Service  |  Help  |  View Basket  |  Your Account
About Amazon.co.uk  |  Careers at Amazon
Conditions of Use & Sale |  Privacy Notice  © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates