- Hardcover: 560 pages
- Publisher: Headline Book Publishing; illustrated edition edition (4 Oct 2004)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0755310268
- ISBN-13: 978-0755310265
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 16.6 x 6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 448,656 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
35 of 37 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Juliet Gardiner knows how to write readably. She keeps her language simple and her sentences short. She has a keen eye for a good quote. Best of all, she knows that a story can be made more interesting by hanging it on people. She hangs hers on many people - her subject, after all, is the People's War. And she develops it by lacing together a daisy chain of memorable anecdotes. This book is an entertaining read from beginning to end - and the further you read, the better it gets. A wonderful read!
27 of 29 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
For a post-war baby, this book is perfect in helping me understand what my parents went through. This is not a dry and dusty historical tome, but a lively record of people's words and thoughts carefully gathered into chapters on rationing, evacuation, the Home Guard etc.
It is also, surprisingly, very funny - with typical English eccentricities managing to survive the war.
I am amazed by what the people put up with in terms of impositions from the Government - many of whose decisions seemed (as they still are today!), illogical and irrelevant.
A highly recommended book which sheds light on a chapter of history that our parents were reluctant or unable to discuss with us.
It is also, surprisingly, very funny - with typical English eccentricities managing to survive the war.
I am amazed by what the people put up with in terms of impositions from the Government - many of whose decisions seemed (as they still are today!), illogical and irrelevant.
A highly recommended book which sheds light on a chapter of history that our parents were reluctant or unable to discuss with us.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This was a fascinating read which kept me engaged all the way through. It was an objective and very accessible account of the Home Front interspersing letters, first hand accounts, diaries and official documents with the narrative to provide a very human description of a time that is fast passing out of living memory.
I agree that some of the source material is recognisable and has been used for other books but this is inevitable. I would disagree that it is the same as the Norman Longmate's How We Lived Then and would say it complements rather than copies it. Gardiner has access to material Longmate clearly didn't. I was particularly impressed by the chapter on conscientious objectors where not all of them were shown in a favourable light which gave me a different perspective on the subject.
I agree that some of the source material is recognisable and has been used for other books but this is inevitable. I would disagree that it is the same as the Norman Longmate's How We Lived Then and would say it complements rather than copies it. Gardiner has access to material Longmate clearly didn't. I was particularly impressed by the chapter on conscientious objectors where not all of them were shown in a favourable light which gave me a different perspective on the subject.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
thorough and very readable
A great book, where the author combines detailed scholarship with a clear writing style. There is so much here about one of the most challenging and important times in our history,... Read more
Published 1 month ago by hardtruth
Highly readable account of life `on the home front' during World War...
This is an extremely thorough and wide-ranging account of life in Britain during World War II. It draws extensively on Mass Observation studies carried out at the time, as well as... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Jeremy Bevan
Excellent
This is an excellent book. I disagree with the reviewer who suggested that it is the same as Longmate's "How We Lived Then" (which I also think is excellent) - of course it covers... Read more
Published 10 months ago by bredfield12
wartime britain 1939-45.
A very good book on life in wartime Britain, 1939-45.
It covers topics such as, evacuation, rationing, the dig for victory, home guard and civil defence. Read more
It covers topics such as, evacuation, rationing, the dig for victory, home guard and civil defence. Read more
Published 13 months ago by road nomad
Marvellous account of the home front in WWII
A splendidly readable narrative account of Britain during the second world war, focusing on the fabric of civilian life, rather than on major political and military events, though... Read more
Published 14 months ago by John Hopper
Wartime Britain
A great read, especially for anyone living during that time period, also it is good information for anyone studing that time frame. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Elizabeth
Do not touch it...
If you have read "How We Lived Then" by Norman Longmate published in 1971 by Hutchinson you will not need to read Juliet Gardiners book as it appears to be in many places almost a... Read more
Published 22 months ago by DavidOrlo,London
Full marks!
Completely satisfied with book, price and speed of delivery. Book was exactly as I hoped and more...and ridiculously cheap.
Published on 4 July 2009 by M. P. Roberts
A very worthwhile book...
This is a history of the Second World War, not of the campaigns and the battles, but of the Home Front. Read more
Published on 28 Nov 2008 by C. Ball
wartime memories
this must rate as one of the finest books of its type ever written i came across it looking for the series of mass observation war diaries all of which i have enjoyed but this is... Read more
Published on 20 Oct 2008 by John Towell
Listmania!
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