See buying choices for this item to see if it's one of the millions that are eligible for Amazon Prime.

10 used & new from £1.66
See All Buying Options
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
The Best of Times: Growing up in Britain in the 1950's
 
See larger image 
Share your own customer images
Publisher: learn how customers can search inside this book.

The Best of Times: Growing up in Britain in the 1950's (Paperback)

by Alison Pressley (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

Available from these sellers.


1 new from £65.38 8 used from £1.66 1 collectible from £10.99

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

The 50s & 60s; The Best of Times: Growing Up and Being Young in Britain

The 50s & 60s; The Best of Times: Growing Up and Being Young in Britain

by Alison Pressley
4.8 out of 5 stars (4)  £7.99
The 1950s Scrapbook

The 1950s Scrapbook

by Robert Opie
5.0 out of 5 stars (6)  £12.49
1950s: Images of the 20th Century (Images of the 20th Century - Getty Images)

1950s: Images of the 20th Century (Images of the 20th Century - Getty Images)

by H F Ullmann
£4.49
Changing Times: Being Young in Britain in the '60s

Changing Times: Being Young in Britain in the '60s

by Alison Pressley
3.3 out of 5 stars (3) 
Sweet Memories

Sweet Memories

by Robert Opie
4.5 out of 5 stars (2)  £5.99
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Paperback: 112 pages
  • Publisher: Michael O'Mara Books Ltd (3 Sep 1999)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1854794582
  • ISBN-13: 978-1854794581
  • Product Dimensions: 25.4 x 19 x 1.3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 296,271 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    •  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?)
£9 - The Best of Times
   www.LiteraryNation.com    Penny Vincenzi Buy Today & Get Fast UK Delivery 
  
 

Product Description

Product Description
The author has collected the reminiscences of a variety of people who grew up in Britain during the 1950s, such as Jenni Murray, Maureen Lipman, Edwina Currie and Jon Snow. They reflect on memories such as liberty bodices, jiving and crisp packets with blue paper twists of salt inside.

From the Author
My book is meant to be fun - no heavy social analysis!
I'm delighted that people have enjoyed this book. It was meant to be fun, to be a celebration of a type of childhood (innocent, free) that has since, alas, mostly vanished. Political correctness does not apply! The book concentrates on white people simply because I am white and my friends are white. We just didn't know any black people in 1950s Britain; why pretend that we did? It's not a crime, surely. We were children, and that was the way society was, then.

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)
(1)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

The Best of Times: Growing up in Britain in the 1950's
54% buy the item featured on this page:
The Best of Times: Growing up in Britain in the 1950's 4.0 out of 5 stars (4)
The 50s & 60s; The Best of Times: Growing Up and Being Young in Britain
20% buy
The 50s & 60s; The Best of Times: Growing Up and Being Young in Britain 4.8 out of 5 stars (4)
£7.99
The 1950s Scrapbook
14% buy
The 1950s Scrapbook 5.0 out of 5 stars (6)
£12.49
Those Were The Days - Britain In The 1950s [DVD]
8% buy
Those Were The Days - Britain In The 1950s [DVD] 5.0 out of 5 stars (2)
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

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

 
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars I never realised everyone was doing exactly the same as ME!, 4 Jan 2002
By Joy Thompson (C.I.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
What a nostalgia-fest! Some of the anecdotes I recognised so much that I laughed and cried till I had lock-jaw, face-ache, and almost peed my pants! It was both gloriously happy and unbearably nostalgic all at the same time. And what a realisation - that every other kid was experiencing exactly the same things as me and my brother and my cousins and schoolmates, etc.

The only criticism would be it would have been nice to have had captions or credits to the pictures.

I couldn't put the book down. Being a sporadic reader it normally takes me months or years to get through anything but I couldn't wait to get to the next page to see what exciting memories it might contain.

What came back most was the care-free-ness of being a 50s child, the freedom to go out for hours exploring, walk alone in the woods, ride a bike without a helmet, play in the road with not a car in sight.

And most of all, mum and dad always "being there" at home. A warm safe place to return to. Families seemed to play and stay together in those days.

Oh, happy days.

END.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars This took me back exactly to my own childhood. It is very ac, 4 Dec 1999
By A Customer
I was so impressed with this book that I have ordered it again to give as a present. It is an exact picture of the 50s in which most of us lived in England. Things certainly changed at the end of the decade and significantly so from the sixties onwards. But here Miss Pressley paints for me the best of periods, one of development in so many ways, the time of my growing-up, a time which I believe has not been bettered for anyone since.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, 12 Nov 2000
By bplizga@btinternet.com (Glasgow, Scotland) - See all my reviews
A book which transports the reader back to a time when there was so much going on and so much to look forward to. People who grew up in that innocent era recount their childhood memories and the book is also filled with excellent illustrations. It's a must for those who grew up in the 1950's and I would also recommend it to those who weren't there at the time - it gives a fascinating insight into a period in history normally passed over in favour of the 1960's.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars A nostalgic flavour of the fifties - for white people
I enjoyed the nostalgia of this book. It does remind me of many of those little things that bring a flavour of a fifties childhood. Read more
Published on 24 Oct 1999

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

Health & Beauty at Amazon.co.uk

Elemis Resurface and Renew Skin Care Gift Set of 4 Products
From soap to shavers, massagers to mascara, stock up on your daily essentials or truly pamper yourself.

›Discover Health & Beauty

  

Make A Wish

Get what you want with an Amazon.co.uk Wish List Make sure you always get what you want with an Amazon.co.uk Wish List.

›More info on Wish Lists

  

Train Hard...Play Hard

Nike, Gola, Converse, and more
Gear up with up to 60% off athletic and outdoor shoes.

›Shop now

  

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
The Girl Who Played with Fire
The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
4.5 out of 5 stars (74)£3.86
 Breaking Dawn (Twilight Saga)
Breaking Dawn (Twilight Saga) by Stephenie Meyer
4.1 out of 5 stars (462)£6.49
 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
4.1 out of 5 stars (164)£3.99
 The Host
The Host by Stephenie Meyer
4.2 out of 5 stars (80)£3.86

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