The people

the rise and fall of the working class, 1910-2010

No cover

The people (2014, John Murray)

456 pages

English language

Published July 21, 2014 by John Murray.

ISBN:
9781848548817
OCLC Number:
869789122

View on OpenLibrary

5 stars (1 review)

What was it really like to live through the 20th century? In 1910 three-quarters of the population were working class, but their story has been ignored until now. Based on the first-person accounts of servants, factory workers, miners and housewives, award-winning historian Selina Todd reveals an unexpected Britain where cinema audiences shook their fists at footage of Winston Churchill, communities supported strikers, and where pools winners (like Viv Nicholson) refused to become respectable. Charting the rise of the working class, through two world wars to their fall in Thatcher's Britain and today, Todd tells their story for the first time, in their own words.

2 editions

A decade by decade breakdown of working class Britain, where it went right, and where it's gone horribly wrong.

5 stars

I picked this up from a charity book stall in a supermarket. I had no expectations.

What I got was a thoroughly detailed history and commentary of the working class, it's political power, how it's been treated by those with power, and when things and have gone well and poorly.

It's staggeringly good. I've spent a few months on it, because it's needed real attention to digest. If you have an interest in class and politics, and you're especially curious about how politicians and those with power treat the working class, and the effect it has had, this book delivers.

Subjects

  • Working class
  • History
  • Social conditions
  • Civilization

Places

  • Great Britain