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Indlæser... Modernity Britain: Opening the Box, 1957-59 (2013)af David Kynaston
   Ingen Der er ingen diskussionstråde på Snak om denne bog.  bevok | Jul 31, 2017 | 
Kynaston is too gleeful in his approach, and too compassionate in outlook, to be a prig. Yet his books are those of an old-fashioned moralist. He thinks, as Victorian idealists such as George Eliot did, that the purpose of good books is to teach one how to live better. He believes in good and bad, and in the importance of discriminating between them. He respects individuals, and cherishes individuality, but hates the political cult of individualism that licenses egotism, greed and disrespect for the weak. Community life, neighbourliness, modest striving, a sense of life as a mishmash of experiences rather than an ornate tapestry, are upheld by him. He nudges his readers into doing their best. Belongs to SeriesTales of a New Jerusalem (3.1) Indeholdt iHæderspriser
The late 1950s was an action-packed, often dramatic time in which the contours of modern Britain began to take shape. These were the 'never had it so good' years, when the Carry On film series and the TV soap Emergency Ward 10 got going, and films like Room at the Top and plays like A Taste of Honey brought the working class to the centre of the national frame; when the urban skyline began irresistibly to go high-rise; when CND galvanised the progressive middle class; when 'youth' emerged as a cultural force; when the Notting Hill riots made race and immigration an inescapable reality; and when 'meritocracy' became the buzz word of the day. The consequences of this 'modernity' zeitgeist, David Kynaston argues, still affect us today. No library descriptions found. |
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 Google Books — Indlæser...GenrerMelvil Decimal System (DDC)941.0855History and Geography Europe British Isles Historical periods of British Isles 1837- Period of Victoria and House of Windsor 1945-1999 1950-1959LC-klassificeringVurderingGennemsnit: (4.33)
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The lense is always in closeup, but Kynaston avoids myopia by swiftly moving from subject to subject. The result contrasts between tantalising blur and detailed exposition. We never disappear into the authoritative third person narrator, staying closely attuned to the voices of the time.
Even the politics is told through the thoughts of those at the time giving a genuine flavour of the challenges of the time untainted by hindsight. As a New Zealander the climatic election campaign where relative prosperity, an accomplished Prime Minister and general political apathy sounded eerily familiar.
The sense of Modernity, of a fulcrum of change in these years is clear, mainly through expanding consumerism and arrogant urban redevelopment. The book sets up themes of progress, of ridding society of the ugly cluttered old and replacing it with the clear clean lines of the present. Kynaston's text (and the photo selection) perhaps could have evoked slightly more clearly the appeal of clean right angled white concrete over what was then old, dirty and tired gothic architecture.
Also a few other significant changes could have received more attention- the freedom excitement and appeal of the motor car over rattling old buses and belatedly modernising railways, changing fashions, popular music, and the continuity of old hobbies and habits.
This is only a question of balance - all these elements are present, as are a healthy dose of sport, literature, theatre, television and radio and solid material on the questioning of the post 1944 education system.
Kynaston's book is evocative and perhaps that is its greatest gift. Fun to read alongside and in contrast to Sandbrook and Hennersey's efforts. We have some wonderful balanced views of this period. Now into the sixties ... (