- Hardcover: 560 pages
- Publisher: Ebury Press; illustrated edition edition (9 Sep 2004)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0091896959
- ISBN-13: 978-0091896959
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 16.4 x 4.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 157,673 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Review
"'I love these diaries. They have the attraction of being stories, but Real stories... Better than any novel.' Margaret Forster; 'A lovely book. It will appeal to... anyone who appreciates the richness and diversity of human experience.' Tony Benn; 'Utterly engrossing, better than any kind of reality TV.' Gavin Esler; 'Funny, vivid, touching, angry, thoughtful - every page is a delight. This is definitely no. 1 on my present list to give to everyone in the coming year.' Jenny Uglow, author of The Lunar Men"
Jenny Uglow
"Funny, vivid, touching, angry, thoughtful – every page is a delight"
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
110 of 110 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
As a history enthusiast, I'm always very interested to find out about the social dimension which is all too often overlooked in favour of purely political perspectives on the past. This book, I am pleased to say bridges the gap magnificently.
Its basis lies in the Mass Observation excercises carried out in the 1930s and 1940s in which volunteers were asked to fill in diaries detailing their daily lives. It was hoped that this would give an insight into the lives of ordinary people to readers in the future.
With this in mind, the editor of this book has taken 5 respondents and published extracts from their diaries dating from 1945 to 1951, an often overlooked period in UK history. The Respondents chosen are widely varied, from B. Charles a gay antiques dealer from Edinburgh to Edie Rutherford, a socialist housewife from Derby through to Herbert Brush, a pensioner form South London.
The diaries outline all kinds of detail we don't normally associate with history books for example, the best types of household cleaning products and the horrors of continued spam dinners! More importantly they give truly fascinating insight into the issues of the day (Labour Government, continued rationing, the outcome of Nuremburg etc...) with heart and from personal perspectives.
I found this aspect intriguing. In retrospect the Attlee government is roundly deified for creatinf the NHS and the Welfare State. However, from these diaries it is obvious that the far sightedness of that adminsitration was not shared by the public at large. Indeed the NHS is looked upon by many as abhorrent!
Social attitudes to race at the time are also highlighted. Attitudes to Jews are not at all favourable. Indeed, the husband of Edie Rutherford's one regret was that the "Nuremberg thugs were stopped before they finished the job" Heavy Stuff!
However, the book's highlight for me are the entries of Herbert Brush. A slight eccentric, his entries are always amusing and often quite surreal. His Poetry is often hilarious and i found myself giggling at his fruitless attempts to find a book giving prime numbers from one to five million!
In all, a fascinating insight into the lives of ordinary folk at a period in history which is often forgotten.
Its basis lies in the Mass Observation excercises carried out in the 1930s and 1940s in which volunteers were asked to fill in diaries detailing their daily lives. It was hoped that this would give an insight into the lives of ordinary people to readers in the future.
With this in mind, the editor of this book has taken 5 respondents and published extracts from their diaries dating from 1945 to 1951, an often overlooked period in UK history. The Respondents chosen are widely varied, from B. Charles a gay antiques dealer from Edinburgh to Edie Rutherford, a socialist housewife from Derby through to Herbert Brush, a pensioner form South London.
The diaries outline all kinds of detail we don't normally associate with history books for example, the best types of household cleaning products and the horrors of continued spam dinners! More importantly they give truly fascinating insight into the issues of the day (Labour Government, continued rationing, the outcome of Nuremburg etc...) with heart and from personal perspectives.
I found this aspect intriguing. In retrospect the Attlee government is roundly deified for creatinf the NHS and the Welfare State. However, from these diaries it is obvious that the far sightedness of that adminsitration was not shared by the public at large. Indeed the NHS is looked upon by many as abhorrent!
Social attitudes to race at the time are also highlighted. Attitudes to Jews are not at all favourable. Indeed, the husband of Edie Rutherford's one regret was that the "Nuremberg thugs were stopped before they finished the job" Heavy Stuff!
However, the book's highlight for me are the entries of Herbert Brush. A slight eccentric, his entries are always amusing and often quite surreal. His Poetry is often hilarious and i found myself giggling at his fruitless attempts to find a book giving prime numbers from one to five million!
In all, a fascinating insight into the lives of ordinary folk at a period in history which is often forgotten.
22 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I could not put this fascinating book down . I am sorry that some readers have have found references to anti-semitism & black people offensive ( I too was taken aback st times by some of the diarists comments ) , but as I've said in my title , this is history that has not been airbrushed .
There are many parallells with modern life , such as crime , poor conditions in hospitals , etc .
I would strongly recommend this book to all those with an interest in social history & it is as well to remember that times & attitudes do change . That was then then , this is now . Not to read this this book because of offensive comments will result in missing out on an excellent selection of how ordinary people lived & thought then .
There are many parallells with modern life , such as crime , poor conditions in hospitals , etc .
I would strongly recommend this book to all those with an interest in social history & it is as well to remember that times & attitudes do change . That was then then , this is now . Not to read this this book because of offensive comments will result in missing out on an excellent selection of how ordinary people lived & thought then .
39 of 40 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
One of the interesting facts to be found in this book is that the lives of people worsened after the end of the war with further rationing, shortages and restrictions making people fearful of the future.
The comments on crime, worsening manners, and young people amongst other things sound little different from the comments we hear today.
All in all a strangely compelling book that draws you in and keeps you reading to the end.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
hidden lives
This is one of the most entertaining books I have ever had. I like human interest books, and have an extensive collection about the way people lived, and the sacrifices they made... Read more
Published 3 months ago by S. Farrell
A wonderful book...
A most enjoyable book...full of the atmosphere of that post war era.....Liked it so much,bought one more copy for a friend and one for my sister....They both feel as I do...... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Pat Collett
A fascinating social history
Although these diary entries are by 'ordinary' people they provide a fascinating insight into life in England after the second world war. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Margaret
I LOVED THIS BOOK!!!!!
I absolutely loved this book! It was fascinating to get 'ordinary' people's perspective on local, national and international events. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Iwork2shop
Memories still vivid
I found a copy of this book when in Ireland visiting family. I read it with great pleasure having grown up during those years and experienced first hand the time after the war with... Read more
Published 22 months ago by AP Mcgilvery-davis
Mass Observation
I found this extremely interesting in many ways - the social history is fascinating - it is also rather poignant and sad and illustrative as to how little control we actually hold... Read more
Published on 31 Mar 2010 by M. C. Verrall
Absorbing Journal - A true page turner
This book is like reliving some of my days as a ten year old schoolboy, when the war was over but living was still as hard and austere as ever. Read more
Published on 24 Jan 2010 by CroydonBoy
Our Hidden Lives - Explore them
I wasn't sure what to expect when I began this book. I knew it would be diary entries made by people who had contributed to the mass observation project, but I didn't know if the... Read more
Published on 29 May 2009 by J. Cooper
Interesting, but
This is a very interesting insight into the lives and attitudes of ordinary people during this period of history. Read more
Published on 14 May 2009 by L. J. Anderson
An riveting insight into an under researched time in post- WW2...
This book just draws you right into this little known period right after WW2. The writings of all the diarists are so revealing of contemporary attitudes, opinions and the... Read more
Published on 26 Oct 2008 by bookhead
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