Having it So Good
Britain in the Fifties
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Penguin Books Ltd
Published:3rd May '07
Should be back in stock very soon
Winner of the Orwell Prize
The second part of Peter Hennessy's celebrated Post-War Trilogy, Having it So Good: Britain in the Fifties captures Britain in an extraordinary decade, emerging from the shadow of war into growing affluence.
'If the Gods gossip, this is how it would sound' Philip Ziegler, Spectator Books of the Year
The 1950s was the decade in which Roger Bannister ran the four-minute mile, Bill Haley released 'Rock Around the Clock', rationing ended and Britain embarked on the traumatic, disastrous Suez War.
In this highly enjoyable, original book, Peter Hennessy takes his readers into front rooms, classrooms, cabinet rooms and the new high-street coffee bars of Britain to recapture, as no previous history has, the feel, the flavour and the politics of this extraordinary time of change.
'Utterly engaging ... a treat. It breathes exhilaration' Libby Purves, The Times
'A particular treat ... fine, wise and meticulously researched' Andrew Marr
'Stands clear of the field as our best narrative history of this decisive decade' Peter Clarke, Sunday Times
'A compelling narrative ... Hennessy's love of the flesh and blood of politics breathes on every page' Tim Gardam, Observer
'The late Ben Pimlott once described Hennessy as "something of a national institution". You can forget the first two of those five words' Guardian
Hennessy combines the balance and authority of a historian with the brilliantly selective eye of the investigative journalist ... if the Gods gossip this is how it would sound Books of the Year -- Philip Ziegler Spectator
- Winner of Orwell Prize 2007
- Short-listed for BBC Four Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction 2007
ISBN: 9780141004099
Dimensions: 198mm x 129mm x 34mm
Weight: 568g
768 pages