Youth Culture in Modern Britain, c.1920-c.1970

'David Fowler's new book is one of the most illuminating books on twentieth-century youth culture I have ever read. From the youth cults of the Edwardian era to the Mods of the Sixties, he looks behind the stereotypes and has unearthed some fascinating material. Based on years of archival research and written with an admirable eye for detail and perspective, this is bound to become essential reading for anyone interested in the social and cultural history of the last century.' - Dominic Sandbrook, University of Oxford, UK 'An ideal text for students: always clear and accessible, with a good eye for detailed examples that are amusing and memorable, even gripping in their opening up of the issues.' - Alastair Reid, Girton College, Cambridge, UK 'David Fowler offers us an iconoclastic account of the history of youth culture, enlivened by telling examples (the 1960s civil servant earnestly reading Herbert Marcuse's One-Dimensional Man) and challenging arguments which force us to re-examine our comfortable assumptions.' - John Street, University of East Anglia, UK 'Fowler has drilled some fascinating bore-holes into the history of 20th-century British youth, and the breadth and variety of examples discussed are a welcome and indeed important antidote to the historic tendency to focus on the post-1950s period.' - Reviews in History

This book traces the history of youth culture from its origins among the student communities of inter-war Britain to the more familiar world of youth communities and pop culture. Grounded in extensive original research, it explores the individuals, institutions and ideas that have shaped youth culture over much of the twentieth century.This book traces the history of youth culture from its origins among the student communities of inter-war Britain to the more familiar world of youth communities and pop culture. Grounded in extensive original research, it explores the individuals, institutions and ideas that have shaped youth culture over much of the twentieth century.