Seeking a Role

In this, the first of two self-standing volumes bringing The New Oxford History of England up to the present, Brian Harrison begins in 1951 with much of the empire intact and with Britain enjoying high prestige in Europe. The United Kingdom could still then claim to be a great power, whose welfare state exemplified compromise between Soviet planning and the USA>'s free market. When the volume ends in 1970, no such claims carried conviction. The empire had gone, central planning was in trouble, and even the British political system had become controversial. In an unusually wide-ranging, yet impressively detailed volume, Harrison approaches the period from unfamiliar directions. He explains how British politicians in the 1950s and 1960s responded to this transition by pursuing successive roles for Britain: worldwide as champion of freedom, and in Europe as exemplar of parliamentary government, the multi-racial society, and economic planning. His main focus, though, rests not on the politicians but on the decisions the British people made largely for themselves: on their environment, social structure and attitudes, race relations, family patterns, economic framework, and cultural opportunities. By 1970 the consumer society had supplanted postwar austerity, the socialist vision was fading, and 'the sixties' (the theme of his penultimate chapter) had introduced new and even exotic themes and values. Having lost an empire, Britain was still resourcefully seeking a role: it had yet to find it.

ISBN 0198204760   Pages 688 ISBN13 9780198204763 (What's this?)   Volumes 1 Publisher Oxford University Press   Weight (grammes) 1180 Imprint Oxford University Press   Published in Oxford Format Hardback   Series title New Oxford History of England Publication date 26 Mar 2009   Height (mm) 241 Library of Congress 2008046116   Width (mm) 165 DEWEY 941.0855   Spine width (mm) 40 DEWEY edition DC22   Academic level General

		List of Plates
		List of Illustrations
		Introduction
1		The United Kingdom in 1951		1
		The United Kingdom and the World		1
		The Face of the Country		12
		The Social Structure		16
		Family and Welfare		28
		Industry and Commerce		39
		Intellect and Culture		48
		Politics and Government		59
		A Backward and Forward Look		67
2		The United Kingdom and the World		70
		Dimensions of Internationalism		70
		Worldwide Migrations		79
		The Cold War		87
		Empire to Commonwealth		101
		An Empire in Europe?		114
3		The Face of the Country		123
		Environmentalism Aroused		123
		Transport Revolutions		136
		Urban Utopia Postponed		146
		A Kaleidoscope of Regions		164
4		The Social Structure		176
		Monarchy Moves with the Times		178
		Upper-Class Resilience		183
		Middle-Class Evangelism		199
		Working-Class Eclipse?		209
		Minorities Old and New		217
5		Family and Welfare		234
		Sexuality in Question		234
		More...

[An] impressive accomplishment...Seeking a Role is not only vastly informative, but it is also a terrific read. Peter Weiler, 20th Century British History These two magisterial volumes... offer a consistently stimulating and formidably well-informed analysis of the condition of England since 1950, as it was shaped both by the wider world and its own internal development. Richard Whiting, History He provides a huge flow of information on almost all topics...all treated in fascinating detail. Kenneth O.Morgan, Literary Review Harrison has a special gift which historians prize. He can turn the grains of history into fascinating and convincing patterns. Peter Hennessy, Times Literary Supplement Full of surprising details and impressive insights. Dominic Sandbrook, Sunday Times Seeking a Role is not only vastly informative, but it is also a terrific read. Peter Weiler, Twentieth Century British History A wonderfully readable summation of this crucial and endlessly fascinating period of Britain's recent past...a masterly account Matthew Grant, Political Quarterly Magnificent if demanding history... all couched in an enviable prose style... reader comes away from the text with a sense that he or she has learnt the history of a people, not just of its elite. Neal Blewett, Australian Book Review A sweeping assessment of British history... Comprehensive and thorough...the definitive starting point for any student or academic wishing to engage with this complex and fascinating period. LIMINA: A Journal of Historical and Cultural Studies

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