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Review
'A masterful work of social history... told with much wit' (Roger Lewis Mail on Sunday 20090321)
‘Vivid, brilliantly researched... Turner may be an anorak, but he is an acutely intelligent anorak' (Francis Wheen New Statesman )
‘This well-researched and witty text recounts how the media reflected politics in an era of glamour, bad fashion and inflation… An account that displays wit, colour and detail’ (Brian Groom Financial Times )
‘An adventurous and enjoyable reassessment of a much-maligned decade.’ (Nick Rennison BBC History Magazine )
‘A real lesson in social history but without the stuffiness… A good fun reminder of the “decade that taste forgot”’ (Manchester Evening News )
‘Vivid, brilliantly researched... Turner may be an anorak, but he is an acutely intelligent anorak' (Francis Wheen New Statesman )
‘This well-researched and witty text recounts how the media reflected politics in an era of glamour, bad fashion and inflation… An account that displays wit, colour and detail’ (Brian Groom Financial Times )
‘An adventurous and enjoyable reassessment of a much-maligned decade.’ (Nick Rennison BBC History Magazine )
‘A real lesson in social history but without the stuffiness… A good fun reminder of the “decade that taste forgot”’ (Manchester Evening News )
Review
'entertaining and splendidly researched ... He has delved into episodes of soap operas and half-forgotten novels to produce an account that displays wit, colour and detail.'
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I finished this a few weeks ago, and I've waited a while before writing the review. As they say in therapy circles, it brought up a lot of stuff for me. I grew up in the 1970s and this was the period when I formed my political outlook.
This is a good overview, but I'm not sure how balanced it is; at the time of reading it felt fair, but on reflection I'm not so sure. Like a lot of commentators the author is keen to point out Tony Benn's character flaws (the silliness with his "Who's Who" entry) but less keen to do the same with others - Thatcher's physical makeover and voice coaching. Incidentally, his dips into popular culture are enjoyable but very partial, and how come he didn't notice the resemblance between Thatcher and Margot Leadbetter from 'The Good Life'?
There's very little social/household history - even when there was power, our homes were colder, darker and had much less stuff in them. These were the days before ATMs, PCs, mobiles, VCRS, etc - maybe that's why street activism seemed so appealing.
It's a salutory reminder of how far away the 1970s are - in both good and bad ways. Then, casual racism was more or less the order of the day, and attitudes towards woman (let alone gays) were very different in ways that can only seem primitive now. On the other hand real wages were much higher, housing was much cheaper, working hours were much shorter, and there was still and sense that another way of organising society was possible; that was part of the appeal of Tony Benn. It's interesting that there is no discussion of his (failed) workers' co-ops.
Definitely worth a read, if not an uncritical one.
This is a good overview, but I'm not sure how balanced it is; at the time of reading it felt fair, but on reflection I'm not so sure. Like a lot of commentators the author is keen to point out Tony Benn's character flaws (the silliness with his "Who's Who" entry) but less keen to do the same with others - Thatcher's physical makeover and voice coaching. Incidentally, his dips into popular culture are enjoyable but very partial, and how come he didn't notice the resemblance between Thatcher and Margot Leadbetter from 'The Good Life'?
There's very little social/household history - even when there was power, our homes were colder, darker and had much less stuff in them. These were the days before ATMs, PCs, mobiles, VCRS, etc - maybe that's why street activism seemed so appealing.
It's a salutory reminder of how far away the 1970s are - in both good and bad ways. Then, casual racism was more or less the order of the day, and attitudes towards woman (let alone gays) were very different in ways that can only seem primitive now. On the other hand real wages were much higher, housing was much cheaper, working hours were much shorter, and there was still and sense that another way of organising society was possible; that was part of the appeal of Tony Benn. It's interesting that there is no discussion of his (failed) workers' co-ops.
Definitely worth a read, if not an uncritical one.
22 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Not only is it a foreign country, but in certain aspects of society, it may as well be another planet. Revisiting 70s Britain, a time ruled by pipe-smoking PMs and trade union bogeymen such as Scargill and Gormley, a time when the nation huddled each evening around 3 TV channels, rubbish mountains piled up in Leicester Square, when the whole country seemed close to collapse, seems like entering a parallel universe and is portrayed well in Turner's book.
Is it true, as has been advanced by many commentators, that here in the early part of the 21st century, we are repeating history and returning to the upheavals of the 70s? A read through of Crisis? will show the reader that the real mood of despair and havoc wreaked by the turmoil of the 70s is still much worse than the current situation (I hope!). But if you think we could be returning to those dark days, then a read through of Crisis? may well be good primer for what to expect.
As well as the political and economic aspects of the decade, Turner takes time to guide us through the cultural life of the 70s, from what was on the box, songs in the charts and the books we were reading. In this respect, one of amazing things I learnt was that Mary Whitehouse's campaign to clean up the media was fuelled by a belief that obscenity in the media was a communist strategy driven and funded by Moscow to ultimately overthrow British society, inspired by what her husband had read in the Old Testament!
The one major shortcoming of the book was that I felt it needed the influencing hand of a good editor - chapters that were supposed to be on certain subjects, started to wander off into other areas, before clumsily returning to the relevant subject matter, rather in the manner of a 1977 Austin Princess skidding about on an icy road!
But after recounting all these negative aspects of the 70s, let me end by recalling one piece of research conducted in 2004 that Turner quotes on his 1st page; namely that people in Britain were happier in 1976 than at any time since. Makes you think, doesn't it?
Is it true, as has been advanced by many commentators, that here in the early part of the 21st century, we are repeating history and returning to the upheavals of the 70s? A read through of Crisis? will show the reader that the real mood of despair and havoc wreaked by the turmoil of the 70s is still much worse than the current situation (I hope!). But if you think we could be returning to those dark days, then a read through of Crisis? may well be good primer for what to expect.
As well as the political and economic aspects of the decade, Turner takes time to guide us through the cultural life of the 70s, from what was on the box, songs in the charts and the books we were reading. In this respect, one of amazing things I learnt was that Mary Whitehouse's campaign to clean up the media was fuelled by a belief that obscenity in the media was a communist strategy driven and funded by Moscow to ultimately overthrow British society, inspired by what her husband had read in the Old Testament!
The one major shortcoming of the book was that I felt it needed the influencing hand of a good editor - chapters that were supposed to be on certain subjects, started to wander off into other areas, before clumsily returning to the relevant subject matter, rather in the manner of a 1977 Austin Princess skidding about on an icy road!
But after recounting all these negative aspects of the 70s, let me end by recalling one piece of research conducted in 2004 that Turner quotes on his 1st page; namely that people in Britain were happier in 1976 than at any time since. Makes you think, doesn't it?
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Both these books cover some of the same ground but equally find much to say that is not covered in the other volume. I have therefore decided to do a joint review that will appear under both books.
"When the lights went out" (WTLWO) is the more in depth of the two, significantly longer and has many interviews with some of the main participants which cast a modern eye on the events of the seventies where hindsight often proves, as always, 20-20. It concentrates on the political machinations of the time and brings in more of the outside world and how this affected Britain and how Britain affected the world than "Crisis what crisis?" (CWC). This means that I, as someone who was born in 1960, see this book almost like a straight history book of a period in which I spent my formative years. There is lots of stuff in here that I was not aware of and it is written in a witty and engaging style so that it is easy to read but offers plenty food for thought. It does not, however, engage me on the personal level as much as CWC does because it barely mentions things like sport, TV shows and pop music, indeed most of what makes up the interests of a teenage lad. And this is where CWC scores.
If anything there is too much reliance in this book of the author stating how the issues of the day were reflected in novels, pop music and TV programmes in particular. James Herbert's "The Rats" is surely given too much attention as a comment of the times - indeed rats of various types are a recurring theme. The author's obvious interest in the music of the time informs the chapter titles, and many of the conclusions he draws. He also spends a lot of time showing where sitcom characters in particular pass comment on current events. This is informative, often very funny and a good yardstick of the times. It does however lead to a certain shallowness of view so for example there is nary a mention of North Sea Oil and little is said of how other world events affected Britain. This was surely a deliberate choice of the author as he has clearly decided that he will cover the seventies almost by using the media of the time as his reference point.
And the outcome? Well neither book ends up giving complete satisfaction on its own. If you read these books in isolation you will feel, like me, that there is a load left out. This is of course true of most single volume histories of such a wide timescale so what to do here?
Read them both of course. It is perhaps to both books' detriment that they in effect fail to cover a lot of common ground but if you take them as two parts of the same history then you get a very full, entertaining and interesting take on a misunderstood and often misremembered period of history.
So both books get 4 stars on their own, but if read together the whole is worth 5 stars. Well worth reading
"When the lights went out" (WTLWO) is the more in depth of the two, significantly longer and has many interviews with some of the main participants which cast a modern eye on the events of the seventies where hindsight often proves, as always, 20-20. It concentrates on the political machinations of the time and brings in more of the outside world and how this affected Britain and how Britain affected the world than "Crisis what crisis?" (CWC). This means that I, as someone who was born in 1960, see this book almost like a straight history book of a period in which I spent my formative years. There is lots of stuff in here that I was not aware of and it is written in a witty and engaging style so that it is easy to read but offers plenty food for thought. It does not, however, engage me on the personal level as much as CWC does because it barely mentions things like sport, TV shows and pop music, indeed most of what makes up the interests of a teenage lad. And this is where CWC scores.
If anything there is too much reliance in this book of the author stating how the issues of the day were reflected in novels, pop music and TV programmes in particular. James Herbert's "The Rats" is surely given too much attention as a comment of the times - indeed rats of various types are a recurring theme. The author's obvious interest in the music of the time informs the chapter titles, and many of the conclusions he draws. He also spends a lot of time showing where sitcom characters in particular pass comment on current events. This is informative, often very funny and a good yardstick of the times. It does however lead to a certain shallowness of view so for example there is nary a mention of North Sea Oil and little is said of how other world events affected Britain. This was surely a deliberate choice of the author as he has clearly decided that he will cover the seventies almost by using the media of the time as his reference point.
And the outcome? Well neither book ends up giving complete satisfaction on its own. If you read these books in isolation you will feel, like me, that there is a load left out. This is of course true of most single volume histories of such a wide timescale so what to do here?
Read them both of course. It is perhaps to both books' detriment that they in effect fail to cover a lot of common ground but if you take them as two parts of the same history then you get a very full, entertaining and interesting take on a misunderstood and often misremembered period of history.
So both books get 4 stars on their own, but if read together the whole is worth 5 stars. Well worth reading
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Excellent addition to the 'decade by decade' history genre
Along with Dominic Sandbrook, this is an author who provides the most concise but often amusing perspective of an extremely turbulent decade. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Paul Christian
This book is tour de force of the sexy 70s
This book is a brilliant and rollicking expose of how Britain fell and lost her way in the 1970s. Turner draws on a range of source material based on films, tv programmes, novels,... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Mr. Craig Henderson
A wonderful assessment of my favourite decade
I found this book a rather thrilling trip down memory lane, since my formative years (5-15 yrs) occured during the 1970s. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Neil Kernohan
A good read
A very good read. Partly light hearted, partly very serious. Gives a view of Britain in the 70s that anyone growing up at the time would recognise. Read more
Published 21 months ago by S. Westwood
Good? Very Good?
Excellant writer,not to dry brings the decade back in all it's horror,but adds the popular culture that made those who lived through it,hell, it was bad but it was fun
Published 23 months ago by Kernow Blue
The best of times and the worst of times...
Looking for a definitive potted history of UK politics in the 1970s, originally I had intended purchasing "When The Lights Went Out". Read more
Published on 25 Mar 2010 by bloo_toon_red
Engaging account of a turbulent decade
Turner's book is an engrossing history of a very turbulent period in modern British history. It is very different to Andy Beckett's The Day the Lights Went Out, both in coverage... Read more
Published on 15 Sep 2009 by Steven Thompson
Nation on the verge of a nervous breakdown
The seventies was a cathartic period for Britain. The economy was in chaos, industrial unrest was at its height, the swinging sixties had left a hangover of moral dilemmas and,... Read more
Published on 12 May 2009 by Mark Keeble
Excellent
Context is all, and in this much needed reappraisal of the 70s, Alwyn W Turner has managed not only to put it firmly within its context sandwiched between the tectonic social... Read more
Published on 12 Jun 2008 by Anthony Barry
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