Globalization in Historical Perspective by
As awareness of the process of globalization grows and the study of its effects becomes increasingly important to governments and businesses (as well as to a sizable opposition), the need for historical understanding also increases. Despite the importance of the topic, few attempts have been made to present a long-term economic analysis of the phenomenon, one that frames the issue by examining its place in the long history of international integration. This volume collects eleven papers doing exactly that and more. The first group of essays explores how the process of globalization can be measured in terms of the long-term integration of different markets-from the markets for goods and commodities to those for labor and capital, and from the sixteenth century to the present. The second set of contributions places this knowledge in a wider context, examining some of the trends and questions that have emerged as markets converge and diverge: the roles of technology and geography are both considered, along with the controversial issues of globalization's effects on inequality and social justice and the roles of political institutions in responding to them. The final group of essays addresses the international financial systems that play such a large part in guiding the process of globalization, considering the influence of exchange rate regimes, financial development, financial crises, and the architecture of the international financial system itself. This volume reveals a much larger picture of the process of globalization, one that stretches from the establishment of a global economic system during the nineteenth century through the disruptions of two world wars and the Great Depression into the present day. The keen analysis, insight, and wisdom in this volume will have something to offer a wide range of readers interested in this important issue.
Local Places, Global Processes: Histories of Environmental change in Britain and Beyond by 
Globalization and Global History by
Globalization and Global History argues that globalization is not an exotic and new phenomenon. Instead it emphasizes that globalization is something that has been with us as long as there have been people who are both interdependent and aware of that fact. Studying globalization from the vantage point of long-term global history permits theoretical and empirical investigation, allowing the authors collected to assess the extent of ongoing transformations and to compare them to earlier iterations. With this historical advantage, the extent of ongoing changes - which previously appeared unprecedented - can be contrasted to similar episodes in the past. The book is divided into three sections. The first focuses on how globalization has been written about from a historical perspective. The second part advances three different takes on how best to view globalization from a very long-term stance. The final section continues this interpretative thread by examining more narrow aspects of globalization processes, ranging from incorporation processes to systemic disruptions.
Global History by
Globalization is the buzz-word of today. It envelops our world, but it also has long historical roots. This edited volume shows how the universal principles embodied in the process of globalization have interacted with diverse localities across the globe during the past two centuries. A. G. Hopkins presents a collection of fresh case studies that draw on different parts of the world - ranging from the Navajo reservation to Japan, via the Middle East and Vietnam - and cover various types of history: economic, political, social, cultural and intellectual. Hopkins's Introduction places the new global history in the context of national history and world history; William H. McNeill, the pioneering historian of large-scale history, concludes the volume with a reflective Afterword. The historical record demonstrates that globalization has not only produced uniformity but has also reinforced difference. Global History offers a coherent explanation of these diverging outcomes, and in doing so points towards a new type of world history. It is essential reading for anyone studying international history, world history, globalization, or world politics.
The Death of Rural England by
Alun Howkins' panoramic survey is a social history of rural England and Wales in the twentieth century. He examines the impact of the First World War, the role of agriculture throughout the century, and the expectations of the countryside that modern urban people harbour. Howkins analyzes the role of rural England as a place for work as well as leisure, and the problems caused by these often conflicting roles. This overview will be welcomed by anyone interested in agricultural and social history, historical geographers, and all those interested in rural affairs.
The Box by
In April 1956, a refitted oil tanker carried fifty-eight shipping containers from Newark to Houston. From that modest beginning, container shipping developed into a huge industry that made the boom in global trade possible. The Box tells the dramatic story of the container's creation, the decade of struggle before it was widely adopted, and the sweeping economic consequences of the sharp fall in transportation costs that containerization brought about. But the container didn't just happen. Its adoption required huge sums of money, both from private investors and from ports that aspired to be on the leading edge of a new technology. It required years of high-stakes bargaining with two of the titans of organized labor, Harry Bridges and Teddy Gleason, as well as delicate negotiations on standards that made it possible for almost any container to travel on any truck or train or ship. Ultimately, it took McLean's success in supplying U.S. forces in Vietnam to persuade the world of the container's potential. Drawing on previously neglected sources, economist Marc Levinson shows how the container transformed economic geography, devastating traditional ports such as New York and London and fueling the growth of previously obscure ones, such as Oakland. By making shipping so cheap that industry could locate factories far from its customers, the container paved the way for Asia to become the world's workshop and brought consumers a previously unimaginable variety of low-cost products from around the globe. Published in hardcover on the fiftieth anniversary of the first container voyage, this is the first comprehensive history of the shipping container. Now with a new chapter, The Box tells the dramatic story of how the drive and imagination of an iconoclastic entrepreneur turned containerization from an impractical idea into a phenomenon that transformed economic geography, slashed transportation costs, and made the boom in global trade possible.
The New Global History by
From a distinguished author in the field, The New Global History is a critical inquiry into the historical process of globalization, which is seen as a distinctly twentieth century phenomenon with its roots in the age of expansion of the early modern world. Cutting across disciplinary boundaries, The New Global History offers a fresh, overarching view of the process of globalization that is always empirically based and discusses the most important themes, such as policy, trade, cultural imperialism and warfare. Bruce Mazlish argues that globalization is not something that the West has imposed upon the rest of the world, but the result of the interplay of many factors across continents. Students of history, politics and international studies, will all find this a valuable resource in the pursuit of their studies.
Globalization by
"Globalization" has become a popular buzzword for explaining today's world. The expression achieved terminological stardom in the 1990s and was soon embraced by the general public and integrated into numerous languages. But is this much-discussed phenomenon really an invention of modern times? In this work, Jürgen Osterhammel and Niels Petersson make the case that globalization is not so new, after all. Arguing that the world did not turn "global" overnight, the book traces the emergence of globalization over the past seven or eight centuries. In fact, the authors write, the phenomenon can be traced back to early modern large-scale trading, for example, the silk trade between China and the Mediterranean region, the shipping routes between the Arabian Peninsula and India, and the more frequently traveled caravan routes of the Near East and North Africa--all conduits for people, goods, coins, artwork, and ideas. Osterhammel and Petersson argue that the period from 1750 to 1880--an era characterized by the development of free trade and the long-distance impact of the industrial revolution--represented an important phase in the globalization phenomenon. Moreover, they demonstrate how globalization in the mid-twentieth century opened up the prospect of global destruction though nuclear war and ecological catastrophe. In the end, the authors write, today's globalization is part of a long-running transformation and has not ushered in a "global age" radically different from anything that came before. This book will appeal to historians, economists, and anyone in the social sciences who is interested in the historical emergence of globalization.
A World Connecting by
Between 1870 and 1945, advances in communication and transportation simultaneously expanded and shrank the world. New technologies erased distance and accelerated the global exchange of people, products, and ideas on an unprecedented scale. A World Connecting focuses on an era when growing global interconnectedness inspired new ambitions but also stoked anxieties and rivalries that would erupt in two world wars--the most destructive conflicts in human history. In five interpretive essays, distinguished historians Emily S. Rosenberg, Charles S. Maier, Tony Ballantyne, Antoinette Burton, Dirk Hoerder, Steven C. Topik, and Allen Wells illuminate the tensions that emerged from intensifying interconnectedness and attempts to control and shape the effects of sweeping change. Each essay provides an overview of a particular theme: modern state-building; imperial encounters; migration; commodity chains; and transnational social and cultural networks. With the emergence of modern statehood and the fluctuating fate of empires came efforts to define and police territorial borders. As people, products, capital, technologies, and affiliations flowed across uneasily bounded spaces, the world both came together and fell apart in unexpected, often horrifying, and sometimes liberating ways. A World Connecting goes beyond nations, empires, and world wars to capture the era's defining feature: the profound and disruptive shift toward an ever more rapidly integrating world.
Globalization: a Very Short Introduction by
"Globalization" has become one of the defining buzzwords of our time - a term that describes a variety of accelerating economic, political, cultural, ideological, and environmental processes that are rapidly altering our experience of the world. It is by its nature a dynamic topic. This VeryShort Introduction has been fully updated for a fourth edition, to include recent developments in global politics, the global economy, and environmental issues.Presenting globalization as a multifaceted process encompassing global, regional, and local aspects of social life, Manfred B. Steger looks at its causes and effects, examines whether it is a new phenomenon, and explores the question of whether, ultimately, globalization is a good or a bad thing. Inthis fourth edition Steger discusses some of the key features of recent years, such as the EU fiscal crisis, the rise of robot technology and new war technology with civilian usage such as drones, the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, and new identity discussions around gender fluidity and sex changein the media.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, andenthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
Globalization by
"Globalization" has become a popular buzzword for explaining today's world. The expression achieved terminological stardom in the 1990s and was soon embraced by the general public and integrated into numerous languages. But is this much-discussed phenomenon really an invention of modern times? In this work, Jürgen Osterhammel and Niels Petersson make the case that globalization is not so new, after all. Arguing that the world did not turn "global" overnight, the book traces the emergence of globalization over the past seven or eight centuries. In fact, the authors write, the phenomenon can be traced back to early modern large-scale trading, for example, the silk trade between China and the Mediterranean region, the shipping routes between the Arabian Peninsula and India, and the more frequently traveled caravan routes of the Near East and North Africa--all conduits for people, goods, coins, artwork, and ideas. Osterhammel and Petersson argue that the period from 1750 to 1880--an era characterized by the development of free trade and the long-distance impact of the industrial revolution--represented an important phase in the globalization phenomenon. Moreover, they demonstrate how globalization in the mid-twentieth century opened up the prospect of global destruction though nuclear war and ecological catastrophe. In the end, the authors write, today's globalization is part of a long-running transformation and has not ushered in a "global age" radically different from anything that came before. This book will appeal to historians, economists, and anyone in the social sciences who is interested in the historical emergence of globalization.
Globalization: a Very Short Introduction by
"Globalization" has become one of the defining buzzwords of our time - a term that describes a variety of accelerating economic, political, cultural, ideological, and environmental processes that are rapidly altering our experience of the world. It is by its nature a dynamic topic. This VeryShort Introduction has been fully updated for a fourth edition, to include recent developments in global politics, the global economy, and environmental issues.Presenting globalization as a multifaceted process encompassing global, regional, and local aspects of social life, Manfred B. Steger looks at its causes and effects, examines whether it is a new phenomenon, and explores the question of whether, ultimately, globalization is a good or a bad thing. Inthis fourth edition Steger discusses some of the key features of recent years, such as the EU fiscal crisis, the rise of robot technology and new war technology with civilian usage such as drones, the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, and new identity discussions around gender fluidity and sex changein the media.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, andenthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
A General View of the Agriculture of Suffolk by Making Sense of the Industrial Revolution by
By using many real case studies, including the experiences of individuals as well as extracts from contemporary documents, this book aims to capture the reality of industrialization while introducing the many facts and figures which make up the real backbone of the history of the period.
Globalization and History by
Globalization is not a new phenomenon, nor is it irreversible. In Gobalization and History, Kevin O'Rourke and Jeffrey Williamson present a coherent picture of trade, migration, and international capital flows in the Atlantic economy in the century prior to 1914--the first great globalization boom, which anticipated the experience of the last fifty years.The authors estimate the extent of globalization and its impact on the participating countries, and discuss the political reactions that it provoked. The book's originality lies in its application of the tools of open-economy economics to this critical historical period--differentiating it from most previous work, which has been based on closed-economy or single-sector models. The authors also keep a close eye on globalization debates of the 1990s, using history to inform the present and vice versa.The book brings together research conducted by the authors over the past decade--work that has profoundly influenced how economic history is now written and that has found audiences in economics and history, as well as in the popular press.
The Countryside of East Anglia by
The countryside we enjoy today has a very long history, but many of its key features were created in the relatively recent past - as this book shows. It investigates how the landscape of a particular area of England, East Anglia,developed in the period of the so-called great depression, beginning in 1870, and the phase of wartime intensification which succeeded it after 1930. It considers how fields, farms and villages developed in this period of dramatic agricultural change; examines the fate of country houses, gardens, and landed estates; and looks in some detail at the character of habitat change - at the development of hedges, woods, wetlands and heaths. It also considers hownew kinds of landscape, ranging from vast conifer plantations to holiday resorts, came into existence. The period of the 'great depression' was not simply one of stasis and decay. It was instead a time in which there were fundamental changes in the rural environment, changes which were not always beneficial to wildlife and biodiversity. This book will be essential reading for all those interested in the history of the countryside [in East Angliaand beyondty. This book will be essential reading for all those interested in the history of the countryside [in East Angliaand beyondty. This book will be essential reading for all those interested in the history of the countryside [in East Angliaand beyondty. This book will be essential reading for all those interested in the history of the countryside [in East Angliaand beyond], landscape history, agricultural history, and historical ecology.
Transforming the Countryside by
It is now almost impossible to conceive of life in western Europe, either in the towns or the countryside, without a reliable mains electricity supply. By 1938, two-thirds of rural dwellings had been connected to a centrally generated supply, but the majority of farms in Britain were not linked to the mains until sometime between 1950 and 1970. Given the significance of electricity for modern life, the difficulties of supplying it to isolated communities, and the parallels with current discussions over the provision of high-speed broadband connections, it is surprising that until now there has been little academic discussion of this vast and protracted undertaking. This book fills that gap. It is divided into three parts. The first, on the progress of electrification, explores the timing and extent of electrification in rural England, Wales and Scotland; the second examines the effects of electrification on rural life and the rural landscape; and the third makes comparisons over space and time, looking at electrification in Canada and Sweden and comparing electrification with the current problems of rural broadband.
Sea Change: Britain’s Coastal Catastrophe by 
Retreat from a Rising Sea by
Melting ice sheets and warming oceans are causing the seas to rise. By the end of this century, hundreds of millions of people living at low elevations along coasts will be forced to retreat to higher and safer ground. Because of sea-level rise, major storms will inundate areas farther inland and will lay waste to critical infrastructure, such as water-treatment and energy facilities, creating vast, irreversible pollution by decimating landfills and toxic-waste sites. This big-picture, policy-oriented book explains in gripping terms what rising oceans will do to coastal cities and the drastic actions we must take now to remove vulnerable populations. The authors detail specific threats faced by Miami, New Orleans, New York, and Amsterdam. Aware of the overwhelming social, political, and economic challenges that would accompany effective action, they consider the burden to the taxpayer and the logistics of moving landmarks and infrastructure, including toxic-waste sites. They also show readers the alternative: thousands of environmental refugees, with no legitimate means to regain what they have lost. The authors conclude with effective approaches for addressing climate-change denialism and powerful arguments for reforming U.S. federal coastal management policies.
Primary Sources
See British Library Sounds link in Brightspace: 'Conversation between fellow flood survivors, Elisabeth and Penny, about their experiences of the East Coast floods of 1953' HD2272/322/83 SRO (I) Booklet produced by Eastern Electricity entitled' The East Coast floods of 1953' and focusing on the restoration of electricity supplies, July 1954.' Available online via Brightspace.
The Unnatural History of the Sea by
Humanity can make short work of the oceans' creatures. In 1741, hungry explorers discovered herds of Steller's sea cow in the Bering Strait, and in less than thirty years, the amiable beast had been harpooned into extinction. It's a classic story, but a key fact is often omitted. Bering Islannd was the last redoubt of a species that had been decimated by hunting and habitat loss years before the explorers set sail. As Callum M. Roberts reveals in THE UNNATURAL HISTORY OF THE SEA, the oceans' bounty didn't disappear overnight. While today's fishing industry is ruthlessly efficient, intense exploitation began not in the modern era, or even with the dawn of industrialization, but in the 11th century in medieval Europe. Roberts explores this long and colorful history of commercial fishing, taking readers around the world and through the centuries to witness the transformation of the seas. Drawing on firsthand accounts of early explorers, pirates, merchants, fishers, and travelers, the book recreates the oceans of the past: waters teeming with whales, sea lions, sea otters, turtles, and giant fish. The abundance of marine life described by 15th century seafarers is almost unimaginable today, but Roberts both brings it alive and artfully traces its depletion. Collapsing fisheries, he shows, are simply latest chapter in a long history of unfettered commercialization of the seas. The story does not end with an empty ocean. Instead, Roberts describes how we might restore the splendor and prosperity of the seas through smarter management of our resources and some simple restraint. From the coasts of Florida to New Zealand, marine reserves have fostered spectacular recovery of plants and animals to levels not seen in a century. They prove that history need not repeat itself: we can leave the oceans richer than we found them.
Exploring Environmental History by
This volume brings together the best of T. C. Smout's recent articles and contributions to books and journals on the topic of environmental history and offers them as a collection of 'explorations'. The author's interests are multi-faceted and, though often focussed on post-1600 Scotland, by no means restricted to that area.
Sixties Britain by
Sixties Britain provides a more nuanced and engaging history of Britain. This book analyses the main social, political, cultural and economic changes Britain undertook as well as focusing on the 'silent majority' who were just as important as the rebellious students, the residents if Soho and the icons of popular culture. Sixties Britain engages the reader without losing sight of the fact that the 1960s were a vibrant, fascinating and controversial time in British History.
Island Thinking: Suffolk Stories of Landscape, Militarisation and Identity by 
Spirits of Community by
Concern about the 'decline of community', and the theme of 'community spirit', are internationally widespread in the modern world. The English past has featured many representations of declining community, expressed by those who lamented its loss in quite different periods and in diverse genres. This book analyses how community spirit and the passing of community have been described in the past - whether for good or ill - with an eye to modern issues, such as the so-called 'loneliness epidemic' or the social consequences of alternative structures of community.It does this through examination of authors such as Thomas Hardy, James Wentworth Day, Adrian Bell and H.E. Bates, by appraising detective fiction writers, analysing parish magazines, considering the letter writing of the parish poor in the 18th and 19th centuries, and through the depictions of realist landscape painters such as George Morland. K. D. M. Snell addresses modern social concerns, showing how many current preoccupations had earlier precedents. In presenting past representations of declining communities, and the way these affected individuals of very different political persuasions, the book draws out lessons and examples from the past about what community has meant hitherto, setting into context modern predicaments and judgements about 'spirits of community' today.
Globalization in Historical Perspective by
As awareness of the process of globalization grows and the study of its effects becomes increasingly important to governments and businesses (as well as to a sizable opposition), the need for historical understanding also increases. Despite the importance of the topic, few attempts have been made to present a long-term economic analysis of the phenomenon, one that frames the issue by examining its place in the long history of international integration. This volume collects eleven papers doing exactly that and more. The first group of essays explores how the process of globalization can be measured in terms of the long-term integration of different markets-from the markets for goods and commodities to those for labor and capital, and from the sixteenth century to the present. The second set of contributions places this knowledge in a wider context, examining some of the trends and questions that have emerged as markets converge and diverge: the roles of technology and geography are both considered, along with the controversial issues of globalization's effects on inequality and social justice and the roles of political institutions in responding to them. The final group of essays addresses the international financial systems that play such a large part in guiding the process of globalization, considering the influence of exchange rate regimes, financial development, financial crises, and the architecture of the international financial system itself. This volume reveals a much larger picture of the process of globalization, one that stretches from the establishment of a global economic system during the nineteenth century through the disruptions of two world wars and the Great Depression into the present day. The keen analysis, insight, and wisdom in this volume will have something to offer a wide range of readers interested in this important issue.
Globalization and Global History by
Globalization and Global History argues that globalization is not an exotic and new phenomenon. Instead it emphasizes that globalization is something that has been with us as long as there have been people who are both interdependent and aware of that fact. Studying globalization from the vantage point of long-term global history permits theoretical and empirical investigation, allowing the authors collected to assess the extent of ongoing transformations and to compare them to earlier iterations. With this historical advantage, the extent of ongoing changes - which previously appeared unprecedented - can be contrasted to similar episodes in the past. The book is divided into three sections. The first focuses on how globalization has been written about from a historical perspective. The second part advances three different takes on how best to view globalization from a very long-term stance. The final section continues this interpretative thread by examining more narrow aspects of globalization processes, ranging from incorporation processes to systemic disruptions.
The Routledge International Handbook of Globalization Studies by
The Routledge International Handbook of Globalization Studies offers students clear and informed chapters on the history of globalization and key theories that have considered the causes and consequences of the globalization process. There are substantive sections looking at demographic, economic, technological, social and cultural changes in globalization. The handbook examines many negative aspects - new wars, slavery, illegal migration, pollution and inequality - but concludes with an examination of responses to these problems through human rights organizations, international labour law and the growth of cosmopolitanism. There is a strong emphasis on interdisciplinary approaches with essays covering sociology, demography, economics, politics, anthropology and history. The Handbook, written in a clear and direct style, will appeal to a wide audience. The extensive references and sources will direct students to areas of further study.
The Age of Manufactures, 1700-1820 by
This new edition of The Age of Manufactures provides an exciting alternative overview of the eighteenth-century British economy. Recent macro-economic history has discounted many of the achievements of the Industrial Revolution. Maxine Berg argues that at the heart of the Industrial Revolution, we find many new consumer industries employing a women's workforce, and bringing with them a rich diversity of technological and organizational change. Four new chapters explore recent perspectives on: * The Industrial Revolution * Eighteenth century industries * Machines and manual labour * The rise of the factory system Statistical summaries, and a thorough revision of the whole text have refreshed and enhanced this well-established and important contribution to British ecomonic history.
Nineteenth-Century Britain by
The nineetenth century was a period of striking developments, and subject to a great pressure of change. This process of change is the primary focus of the book. Organised into a series of thematic chapters, Black and MacRaild's wide-ranging text offers the reader an analysis of numerous spheres of human history: politics, empire and warfare; economy, society and population; religion and culture. The book also offers considered treatment of Scotland, Wales and Ireland, with a truly British (as opposed to English) perspective maintained throughout. With numerous illustrations, helpful explanatory tables, boxes and textual inserts, as well as a list of further reading with each chapter, Ninteetenth Century Britain is an excellent introductory text book for students of this most vital period in British history.
Progress and Poverty by
BL The only general textbook to examine the social and political implications of the economics of the period British society and the British economy underwent major structural change over the period from 1700 to 1850, as population moved from agriculture and rural life to industry and towns. Unlike previous textbooks on this period, written either from a social and political standpoint, or about economics in the abstract, this book incorporates the work of social and political historians with revisionist work on British economic growth. It stresses the connections between the economy and debates over public policy, and examines the regional variations in agriculture and industry, with particular attention to the differences between England and Scotland. Much revisionist work concerns the operation of assumed national markets; the aim of the book is to show how these markets were formed, and how a national economy was created. Martin Daunton gives a clear and balanced picture of the continuity and change in the early development of the world's first industrial nation.
Wealth and Welfare by
Martin Daunton provides a clear and balanced view of the continuities and changes that occurred in the economic history of Britain from the Great Exhibition of 1851 to the Festival of Britain in 1951.In 1851, Britain was the dominant economic power in an increasingly global economy. The First World War marked a turning point, as globalisation went into reverse and Britain shifted to 'insular capitalism'.Rather than emphasizing the decline of the British economy, this book stresses modernity and the growth of new patterns of consumption in areas such as the service sector and the leisure industry.
The Forging of the Modern State by
In this hugely ambitious history of Britain, Eric Evans surveys every aspect of the period in which the country was transformed into the world¿s first industrial power. This was an era of revolutionary change unparalleled in Britain, yet one in which transformation was achieved without political revolution. The unique combination of transition and revolution is a major theme in the book, which ranges across the embryonic empire, the Church, education, health, finance, and rural and urban life. Evans gives particular attention to the Great Reform Act of 1832. The Third Edition includes an entirely new introductory chapter, and is illustrated for the first time.
The Shaping of Modern Britain by
In this wide-ranging history of modern Britain, Eric Evans surveys every aspect of the period in which Britain was transformed into the world's first industrial power. By the end of the nineteenth century, Britain was still ruled by wealthy landowners, but the world over which they presided had been utterly transformed. It was an era of revolutionary change unparalleled in Britain - yet that change was achieved without political revolution. Ranging across the developing empire, and dealing with such central institutions as the church, education, health, finance and rural and urban life, The Shaping of Modern Britain provides an unparallelled account of Britain's rise to superpower status. Particular attention is given to the Great Reform Act of 1832, and the implications of the 1867 Reform Act are assessed. The book discusses: - the growing role of the central state in domestic policy making - the emergence of the Labour party - the Great Depression - the acquisition of a vast territorial empire Comprehensive, informed and engagingly written, The Shaping of Modern Britain will be an invaluable introduction for students of this key period of British history.
The Cambridge Economic History of Modern Britain 2 Volume Paperback Set by
A new edition of the leading textbook on the economic history of Britain since industrialisation. Combining the expertise of more than 30 leading historians and economists, the volumes examine the foundational importance of economic life in modern Britain and the close interconnections between economic, social, political and cultural change. Each chapter provides a clear guide to the major controversies in the field and students are shown how to connect historical evidence with economic theory and apply quantitative methods. Volume 1 (1700-1870), examines industrialisation's causes and consequences; issues of globalisation, convergence and divergence; and the role of institutions, the state and technology. Volume 2 tracks the development of the British economy from late nineteenth century global dominance to its early twenty-first century position as a mid-sized player in an integrated European economy. Throughout the volumes British experience is set within an international context and its performance benchmarked against its global competitors.
Liberty's Dawn by
This remarkable book looks at hundreds of autobiographies penned between 1760 and 1900 to offer an intimate firsthand account of how the Industrial Revolution was experienced by the working class. The Industrial Revolution brought not simply misery and poverty. On the contrary, Griffin shows how it raised incomes, improved literacy, and offered exciting opportunities for political action. For many, this was a period of new, and much valued, sexual and cultural freedom. This rich personal account focuses on the social impact of the Industrial Revolution, rather than its economic and political histories. In the tradition of best-selling books by Liza Picard, Judith Flanders, and Jerry White, Griffin gets under the skin of the period and creates a cast of colorful characters, including factory workers, miners, shoemakers, carpenters, servants, and farm laborers.
The Industrial Revolution by
This is an introduction to the Industrial Revolution which offers an integrated account of the economic and social aspects of change during the period.
Industrialization in Nineteenth Century Europe by
Written for the layman as well as the economic historian this famous and much-used book not only presents a general synthesis of the pattern of European industrialisation; it also provides material for a comparative study by illustrating, in separate case studies, the specific characteristics of development in Britain, France, Germany, Russia and Italy.
The Unbound Prometheus by
Professor Landes's study, Technological Change and Industrial Development in Western Europe, 1750-1914, first appeare as a chapter in volume VI of the Cambridge Economic History of Europe. He has now extended it by adding a full-scale analysis of modern industrial Europe from the First World War to the 1960s. In his new Introduction, Professor Landes discusses the characteristics, progress, and political, economic and social implications of the Industrial Revolution in Britain, France and Germany. He raises the general question: why was Europe the first to industrialize? His section on the inter-war years covers the effect of the First World War in accelerating the dissolution of the old international economy, the reasons for monetary instability and the consequences of monetary difficulties for the economic history of Europe. In particular he discusses the causes of the economic crisis of 1929-1932, the reasons for its severity and quasi-universality and for Britain's early and sustained recovery. An important theme is the impediments posed by generalized international egoism to the efficiency and growth of the European economies. In his final chapter on the economic recovery of Western Europe after the Second World War, Professor Landes examines the forces which have operated since the early 1950s to give Western Europe a period of unprecedented economic growth. He raises the vital question: is this recent boom a temporary phenomenon or the first stage in a new trend of more rapid growth, reflecting an acceleration in technological advance?
Eighty Years of Enterprise, 1869-1949: Being the Intimate Story of the Waterside Works of Ransomes & Rapier Limited of Ipswich, England by 
The First Industrial Nation by
This celebrated and seminal text examines the industrial revolution, from its genesis in pre-industrial Britain, through its development and into maturity. A chapter-by-chapter analysis explores topics such as economic growth, agriculture, trade finance, labour and transport. First published in 1969, The First Industrial Nation is widely recognised as a classic text for students of the industrial revolution.
Economic Social History of Britain by
This text covers the 200 years crucial to an understanding of the modern British economy and society. The major economic and social themes of the period are closely related and organized on a broadly chronological framework.
The Birth of Industrial Britain by
An introductory text on economic development during Britain's Industrial Revolution. It considers the significance and scale of changes and provides a concise overview of the state of current research on this key period.
The Enlightened Economy by
This book focuses on the importance of ideological and institutional factors in the rapid development of the British economy during the years between the Glorious Revolution and the Crystal Palace Exhibition. Joel Mokyr shows that we cannot understand the Industrial Revolution without recognizing the importance of the intellectual sea changes of Britain’s Age of Enlightenment. In a vigorous discussion, Mokyr goes beyond the standard explanations that credit geographical factors, the role of markets, politics, and society to show that the beginnings of modern economic growth in Britain depended a great deal on what key players knew and believed, and how those beliefs affected their economic behavior. He argues that Britain led the rest of Europe into the Industrial Revolution because it was there that the optimal intersection of ideas, culture, institutions, and technology existed to make rapid economic growth achievable. His wide-ranging evidence covers sectors of the British economy often neglected, such as the service industries.
Understanding the Industrial Revolution by
Understanding the Industrial Revolution is a fresh, new exploration of this economic phenomenon of major importance. It describes theories of economic growth, shows how these can be applied to the revolution and discusses them in the light of modern research. Furthermore, it places the debate surrounding the social effects of industrialisation into the context of economic change during the period. This book includes discussion of: * theories on the supply of capital * role of labour * innovation and entrepreneurship * the significance of transport * the impact of industrialisation on living standards. Each aspect of the Industrial Revolution in Britain is discussed in depth, focusing on the important debates and reviewing the most recent research.
Agricultural Revolution in England by
This book is the first available survey of English agriculture between 1500 and 1850. It combines new evidence with recent findings from the specialist literature, to argue that the agricultural revolution took place in the century after 1750. Taking a broad view of agrarian change, the author begins with a description of sixteenth-century farming and an analysis of its regional structure. He then argues that the agricultural revolution consisted of two related transformations. The first was a transformation in output and productivity brought about by a complex set of changes in farming practice. The second was a transformation of the agrarian economy and society, including a series of related developments in marketing, landholding, field systems, property rights, enclosure and social relations. Written specifically for students, this book will be invaluable to anyone studying English economic and social history, or the history of agriculture.
The Industrial Revolution and British Society by
The Industrial Revolution and British Society is an original and wide-ranging textbook survey of the principal economic and social aspects of the Industrial Revolution in Britain in the eighteenth- and early nineteenth-centuries. The distinguished international team of contributors each focus on topics at the very centre of scholarly interest, and draw together the prevailing research in an accessible and stimulating manner: the intention throughout is to introduce a broad student readership to important, but less familiar aspects and consequences of the first Industrial Revolution. A variety of different disciplinary skills are employed in the analysis of empirical and conceptual data, and each chapter opens up its subject with indications for further reading. The Industrial Revolution and British Society offers a topical overview on perspectives of this central historical problem, and will be widely used as a course text by teachers in the field.
The Origins of Modern English Society by
Bringing together subjects such as culture, religion, morals, politics, economics, and mentality, Perkin presents and applies a holistic concept of social history in the tradition of great historians of the past. In this classic text of social history, Harold Perkin explores the emergence of a new form of class society in Victorian England, which differed radically from early modern society. He locates the origins of the modern English class system in the Industrial Revolution, the impact of which went beyond economy and technology, and changed the ways of living and perceptions of the English people in many ways. Origins of Modern English Society maintains its influence as a comprehensive and integrative survey of a crucial period in the development of English society.
Human Documents of the Industrial Revolution in Britain by 
British Society, 1680-1880 by
Richard Price here offers a sweeping interpretation of modern British history. He challenges the dominant assumption that the nineteenth century marked the beginning of modern Britain. British Society argues on the contrary that nineteenth-century British society was the extension of an earlier era whose main themes first appeared in the late seventeenth century and which continued to shape the social, economic and political history of the country until the end of the nineteenth century. This book casts light on the main themes of economic, political and social history, and offers alternative interpretations on questions and issues that are central to the history of modern Britain. It follows in the great tradition of works such as Briggs's Age of Improvement, and Perkin's Origins of Modern English Society, and will be of enormous interest to all students and scholars of the period.
Britain since 1789: a concise history by 
Women in an Industrializing Society by
This book examines the experiences of women in an industrializing society, not only in their paid employment, but also in the home. Both are vital to understanding the role women played in the industrial revolution in England. Jane Rendall draws upon the most recent work on the social history of the nineteenth century to consider the economic changes that brought new divisions of labour between the sexes in the working-class family and the growth of the ideal of ′separate spheres′ for middle-class men and women. She shows how, by the end of the period, domestic labour, both paid and unpaid, and the responsibilities of motherhood has become the expected occupation of the majority of women.
Cotton by
Today's world textile and garment trade is valued at a staggering $425 billion. We are told that under the pressure of increasing globalisation, it is India and China that are the new world manufacturing powerhouses. However, this is not a new phenomenon: until the industrial revolution, Asia manufactured great quantities of colourful printed cottons that were sold to places as far afield as Japan, West Africa and Europe. Cotton explores this earlier globalised economy and its transformation after 1750 as cotton led the way in the industrialisation of Europe. By the early nineteenth century, India, China and the Ottoman Empire switched from world producers to buyers of European cotton textiles, a position that they retained for over two hundred years. This is a fascinating and insightful story which ranges from Asian and European technologies and African slavery to cotton plantations in the Americas and consumer desires across the globe.
The Industrial Revolution in Shropshire by
The first edition (1973) was acclaimed and it firmly established the Shropshire Coalfield as the cradle of the Industrial Revolution. After several reprints a new edition appeared in 1981, but since then there has been much further research, and re-examination of interpretations, prompting a completely re-written book with an entirely new structure, and with many more illustrations, all integrated with the relevant text. This is the book that made Ironbridge a place of international pilgrimage, and, in its new edition, provides a 21st-century explanation why!
Time and Work in England During the Industrial Revolution by
This book reconstructs patterns of time-use in England after 1750. It exploits previously unused court records to reconstruct the working lives of Englishmen and -women at the dawn of the Industrial Age. Working hours became much longer. Within 80 years, the length of the working year increased by approximately 20 percent.
The industrial revolutionaries; the creation of the modern world 1776-1914 by 
England's Rural Realms by
The English countryside in the nineteenth century experienced the shifting power struggle from the great landed estates towards democratisation. Challenging received scholarship that the landed estates declined in power and patronage, Bujak places the Victorian globalisation of trade alongside the democratisation of the English countryside. By doing so, he reveals that the economic decline of the great landed estates was balanced by their continued social and political influence in the countryside up to the Great War. With its focus on Suffolk, a county at the forefront of agricultural improvement and thus hardest hit by the agricultural depression, the patterns revealed by "England's Rural Realm" demonstrates the durability of the great estate system across the English countryside.
Reshaping Rural England by
First Published in 1991. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.
The Death of Rural England by
Alun Howkins' panoramic survey is a social history of rural England and Wales in the twentieth century. He examines the impact of the First World War, the role of agriculture throughout the century, and the expectations of the countryside that modern urban people harbour. Howkins analyzes the role of rural England as a place for work as well as leisure, and the problems caused by these often conflicting roles. This overview will be welcomed by anyone interested in agricultural and social history, historical geographers, and all those interested in rural affairs.
English landed Society in the Nineteenth Century by 
Churchill's War Against the Zeppelin 1914-18 by
Over a thousand British citizens were killed and over three thousand were wounded by Zeppelin bombing during the course of World War I. In Churchill's War Against the Zeppelin 1914-18 Leon Bennett explores the development of the airship, the efforts to defend Britain against the attacks, and Winston Churchill's role in these efforts. The text is accompanied by nearly 200 illustrations. As First Lord of the Admiralty in the early years of the war, Churchill was responsible for defending Britain against all attacks, not only from the sea but also from theAviation air. He was instrumental in proposing and sponsoring a variety of measures, including defense by carrier and by flying boat. Unfortunately, while these measures proved successful in the long run, they took too long to be fully developed in time to be effective as an immediate defense against the Zeppelin attacks. Politically weakened by the Gallipoli disaster and the Zeppelin, Churchill had to resign. It would take another war to restore his reputation. Leon Bennett has written extensively about aerial combat during World War I in his books, "Three Wings for the Red Baron", "Gunning for the Red Baron" and "The Fall of the Red Baron" and in numerous articles. In researching and writing his books, Leon Bennett draws on a lifelong interest and experience in the many facets of flying and aerodynamics. Trained as an aeronautical engineer, he spent many years as a research scientist and did ballistics research during his military service. His understanding of the Zeppelin's many virtues and drawbacks has been helped by his experiences as a glider pilot and airplane modeler.
Air Raid! The Enemy Air Offensive against East Anglia 1939-45 by 
The People's War: Britain 1939-1945 by 
Air Power in the Age of Total War by
A fascinating study of the changing military role of air power in the 20th century, this book examines the sensational impact of the Great War, the pioneering work of air power theorists and visionaries in the interwar period, the air arms race, the Second World War in Europe and the Far East, and, finally, the post-war period.
We Can Take It! by
`We Can Take It!' shows that the British remember the war in a peculiar way, thanks to a mix of particular images and evidence. Our memory has been shaped by material which is completely removed from historical reality. These images (including complete inventions) have combined to make a new history. The vision is mostly cosy and suits the way in which the Britons conceive of themselves: dogged, good humoured, occasionally bumbling, unified and enjoying diversity. In fact Britons load their memory towards the early part of the war (Dunkirk, Blitz, Battle of Britain) rather than when we were successful in the air or against Italy and Germany with invasions. This suits our love of being the underdog, fighting against the odds, and being in a crisis. Conversely, the periods of the war during which Britain was in the ascendant are, perversely, far more hazy in the public memory.
The Blitz by
From the author of 'Wartime' and 'The Thirties'comes an outstanding history of the most prolonged and devastating attack ever endured by Britain's civilian population - the Blitz. September 1940 marked the beginning of Nazi Germany's sustained attack on civilian Britain. Lasting eight months, the Blitz was a new and terrible form of warfare that had been predicted throughout the 1930s, widely feared since Neville Chamberlain's declaration that Britain was at war. Yet, compared with other great events of that war - Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain, D-Day - the Blitz remains curiously overlooked; while the London Blitz has been much documented, there exists very little in the way of a comprehensive account of the Blitz experience as a whole - or of its social, political and cultural implications. In her new book, critically acclaimed historian Juliet Gardiner finally gives the Blitz the historical attention it deserves. Exploring this national story, she charts the impact of the nightly bombings on the entire country. And while loss and devastation affected the whole of Britain, the attacks also served to galvanise the nation: in the face of the terrifying Nazi onslaught, a new determination steadily emerged. Revealing, original and beautifully written, The Blitz is a much-needed re-examination of one of the most important aspects of Second World War history.
At Home and under Fire by
Although the Blitz has come to symbolize the experience of civilians under attack, Germany first launched air raids on Britain at the end of 1914 and continued them during the First World War. With the advent of air warfare, civilians far removed from traditional battle zones became a direct target of war rather than a group shielded from its impact. This is a study of how British civilians experienced and came to terms with aerial warfare during the First and Second World Wars. Memories of the World War I bombings shaped British responses to the various real and imagined war threats of the 1920s and 1930s, including the bombing of civilians during the Spanish Civil War and, ultimately, the Blitz itself. The processes by which different constituent bodies of the British nation responded to the arrival of air power reveal the particular role that gender played in defining civilian participation in modern war.
The Carlton Colville Chronicles of Canon Reginald Augustus Bignold by 
Defending Britain's Skies 1940-1945 by
Dispatches in this volume include that on the Battle of Britain, and air fighting 1940-1941, by Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh C.T. Dowding, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Fighter Command, Air Operations by Fighter Command between November 1940 and the end of December 1941, the anti-aircraft defense of the United Kingdom between 1939 and 1945, and the report on air operations by Air Defense of Great Britain and Fighter Command in connection with the German flying bomb and rocket offensives, 1944-1945. This unique collection of original documents will prove to be an invaluable resource for historians, students and all those interested in what was one of the most significant periods in British military history.
Bombardment of Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth by the Germans, 25th April 1916 by West Row Girl in Wartime: The Impact of the Second World War on a Small Suffolk village by 
Ipswich in the Second World War by
Ipswich like every other town, had its own war. This new book provides a penetrating view of the war as it affected Ipswich. Within the compass of one provincial town it is possible to reveal the inter-relationship of events, authorities and the general public. By using previously unknown police and civic documents, other original archives, unpublished diaries and oral history, the author gives an intimate and fascinating picture of how one town organised for total war. Key incidents were shared in the memory of an entire generation and overlapping accounts by different voices enabled the author to build up a powerful mosaic of their experiences. The book includes the histories of the disturbed and the disaffected as well as those of the better-known 'Home Front' organisations from Dig for Victory to the A.R.P. and the Home Guard. A rigid and sometimes inept local bureaucracy was forced to transform itself quickly under the pressure of near defeat and possible invasion. The author reveals a world both remote and familiar. The seeds of modern youth culture germinated and the ongoing struggle between the attitudes of the Poor Law and of the Welfare State began. Neither official nor reverential, the author tries to give an honest picture of a town, at times near the end of its tether; how it coped with its war and how it was changed by it. His book will be welcomed well beyond the borders of Ipswich by those interested in the period, while it will have strong appeal to all who live in the town or whose family did at the time.
Half the Battle by
"Robert Mackay has produced a thoughtful and clearly-written study which includes a great deal of interest to historians of the popular experience of the British home front during the Second World War." --Jeremy Crang, University of Edinburgh
Wartime in West Suffolk by
Winifred Challis (1896-1990) spent most of her life in West Suffolk. Born in Newmarket, during the Second World War she was working in Bury St Edmunds for the Public Assistance Committee and was one of nearly 500 people who at some point during the war kept a diary for the social research organization, Mass Observation. From November 1942 she wrote at length about her everyday life, her feelings, and the social and political attitudes of both herself and others. Winifred, while often introspective, was also a close observer of the world around her, a free thinker, and an accomplished and penetrating writer, with a questioning mind and a quick wit. For several months in 1942-1943 she immersed herself in her diary-writing, producing on some days at least a couple of thousand words of perceptive commentary on the wartime scene - rationing, shortages, the often bleak texture of daily life, the sometimes disconcerting presence of outsiders in Bury, but with various moments of satisfaction and pleasure. Her diaries provide an unusual and fascinating record of a critical period of Suffolk's history. Robert Malcomson is Professor Emeritus of History, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario; Peter Searby was until his retirement Fellow at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge. provide an unusual and fascinating record of a critical period of Suffolk's history. Robert Malcomson is Professor Emeritus of History, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario; Peter Searby was until his retirement Fellow at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge. provide an unusual and fascinating record of a critical period of Suffolk's history. Robert Malcomson is Professor Emeritus of History, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario; Peter Searby was until his retirement Fellow at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge. provide an unusual and fascinating record of a critical period of Suffolk's history. Robert Malcomson is Professor Emeritus of History, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario; Peter Searby was until his retirement Fellow at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge.
Norfolk and Suffolk in the Great War by Britain in the Century of Total War by 
The Deluge by
Almost continuously in print for 40 years, this classic title describes life on the home front, analyzing the social changes that made Britain of the 1920s a vastly different place from the Britain that went to war in 1914. This reissued second edition features a new Preface by leading historian Joanna Bourke.
Zeppelin over Suffolk by
Zeppelin Over Suffolk tells the remarkable story of the destruction of a German airship over East Anglia in 1917. The drama is set against the backdrop of Germany's aerial bombing campaign on Britain in the First World War, using a terrifying new weapon, the Zeppelin. The course of the raid on that summer night is reconstructed in vivid detail, moment by moment - the Zeppelin's take off from northern Germany, its slow journey across the North Sea, the bombing run along the East Anglian coast, the pursuit by British fighters high over Suffolk, and the airship's final moments as it fell to earth in flames near the village of Theberton in the early morning of 17 June 1917. Mark Mower gives a gripping account of a pivotal episode in the pioneering days of the air war over England.
The Fear of Invasion by
The Fear of Invasion presents a new interpretation of British preparation for War before 1914. It argues that protecting the British Isles from invasion was the foundation upon which all other plans for the defence of the Empire were built up. Home defence determined the amount of resourcesavailable for other tasks and the relative focus of the Army and Navy, as both played an important role in preventing an invasion. As politicians were reluctant to prepare for offensive British participation in a future war, home defence became the means by which the government contributed to anill-defined British "grand" strategy.The Royal Navy formed the backbone of British defensive preparations. However, after 1905 the Navy came to view the threat of a German invasion of the British Isles as a far more credible threat than is commonly realised. As the Army became more closely associated with operations in France, the Navythus devoted an ever-greater amount of time and effort to safeguarding the vulnerable east coast. In this manner preventing an invasion came to exert a "very insidious" effect on the Navy by the outbreak of War in 1914. This book explains how and why this came to pass, and what it can tell us aboutthe role of government in forming strategy.
Which People's War? by
What did it mean to be British during the 'People's War'? Professor Rose uses material from newspapers, diaries, novels and letters to examine popular notions of citizenship on the home front. She shows that what we now mean by 'identity politics' was alive and well in the 1940s and that any singular conception of 'Britishness' was extremely fragile.
Further Suffolk Memories: More Stories of Walberswick and Blythburgh People during World War I by 
Ipswich at War: A Military History by Horses in European Economic History: A Preliminary Canter by The Death of Rural England by
Alun Howkins' panoramic survey is a social history of rural England and Wales in the twentieth century. He examines the impact of the First World War, the role of agriculture throughout the century, and the expectations of the countryside that modern urban people harbour. Howkins analyzes the role of rural England as a place for work as well as leisure, and the problems caused by these often conflicting roles. This overview will be welcomed by anyone interested in agricultural and social history, historical geographers, and all those interested in rural affairs.
Women's Leisure in England, 1920-1960 by
This assessment of the complex relationship between women and leisure in England draws upon recent feminist theory. Departing from approaches which focus on particular activities or institutions, it places everyday experiences at its centre, presenting an account of changing perceptions, representations and experiences of leisure across the period 1920-1960.
Women in the 1920s by
Drawing on family papers, contemporary publications and archive research, this book presents a vivid picture of women's lives in the 1920s. Essential reading for students of women's history and social historians.
Britain in The 1930s by
Were the 1930s in Britain a decade of growing prosperity, unprecedented levels of ownership and sane, competent government? Or was it a time of grinding poverty, long-term unemployment and political timidity? In this new book Andrew Thorpe cuts through the welter of dispute and mythology to provide fresh analysis of politics, economics and society in this most controversial of decades.
Young Women, Work, and Family in England 1918-1950 by
This fascinating account of young women's lives challenges existing assumptions about working class life and womanhood in England between the end of the First World War and the beginning of the 1950s. While contemporaries commonly portrayed young women as pleasure-loving leisure consumers, this book argues that the world of work was in fact central to their life experiences. Social and economic history are woven together to examine the working, family, and social lives of the maids, factory workers, shop assistants, and clerks who made up the majority of England's young women. Selina Todd traces the complex interaction between class, gender, and locale that shaped young women's roles at work and home, indicating that paid work structured people's lives more profoundly than many social histories suggest. Rich autobiographical accounts show that, while poverty continued to constrain life choices, young women also made their own history. Far from being apathetic workers or pliant consumers, they forged new patterns of occupational and social mobility, were important breadwinners in working class homes, developed a distinct youth culture, and acted as workplace militants. In doing so they helped to shape twentieth-century society.
A Cultural History of Climate by
Global warming and the future of the climate is one of the greatest challenges of our time, but what do we know about climate variations 500 years ago, or 5000 years ago? How can we know anything at all about the history of weather? What impact have climate changes had on human prosperity and the spirit of invention? In this major new book Wolfgang Behringer introduces us to the latest historical research on the development of the earth's climate. He focuses above all on the cultural reactions to climate change through the ages, showing how even minor changes in the climate sometimes resulted in major social, political and religious upheavals. By examining how our predecessors responded to climate changes, Behringer provides us with a fresh basis for thinking about how we might address the serious climatic challenges we face today.
Fear in Early Modern Socie by
These essays present an examination of the events and crises which generated fear in early-modern societies. They offer examples of fear, and popular responses to it. From the natural threats of fire, flood and plague to the theoretical traumas of death and the afterlife, this volume covers the panoply of personal and communal tragedies which tormented, tortured and terrified the early-modern world.
The Great Tide: the Story of the 1953 Flood Disaster in Essex by 
The Roots of Environmental Consciousness by
This book examines the roots of contemporary environmental consciousness and action in terms of both popular experience and tradition. A wide range of geographical and thematic case-studies explore the myth, tradition and collective memory that shape our environmental thought. Containing a wealth of empirical source material, this book will be invaluable for sociologists and historians alike.
Art As a Tool in Support of the Understanding of Coastal Change in East Anglia by 
The Rising Sea by
On Shishmaref Island in Alaska, homes are being washed into the sea. In the South Pacific, small island nations face annihilation by encroaching waters. In coastal Louisiana, an area the size of a football field disappears every day. For these communities, sea level rise isn't a distant, abstract fear: it's happening now and it's threatening their way of life. In The Rising Sea, Orrin H. Pilkey and Rob Young warn that many other coastal areas may be close behind. Prominent scientists predict that the oceans may rise by as much as seven feet in the next hundred years. That means coastal cities will be forced to construct dikes and seawalls or to move buildings, roads, pipelines, and railroads to avert inundation and destruction. The question is no longer whether climate change is causing the oceans to swell, but by how much and how quickly. Pilkey and Young deftly guide readers through the science, explaining the facts and debunking the claims of industry-sponsored "skeptics." They also explore the consequences for fish, wildlife--and people. While rising seas are now inevitable, we are far from helpless. By making hard choices--including uprooting citizens, changing where and how we build, and developing a coordinated national response--we can save property, and ultimately lives. With unassailable research and practical insights, The Rising Sea is a critical first step in understanding the threat and keeping our heads above water.
Coastal Erosion and Protection in Europe by
Europe has a long history of managing coastal erosion through a variety of protection strategies, from the defences of the Venice lagoons to coastal land reclamation in the Netherlands. This book provides a comprehensive review of the entire coastline of Europe and a comparative analysis of erosion problems and solutions in each country. Each chapter discusses the natural and anthropogenic factors in the erosion process and in defence projects design and maintenance, including coastal morphology and wave climate, land use changes and use of coastal areas, the evolution of coastal protection, climate change and political and administrative assessments. Particular attention is paid to demographic and economic factors influencing coastal erosion in each country and to technical and administrative criteria influencing defence projects design. Lavishly illustrated in full colour throughout, the book represents a definitive reference work on its subject.
The 1953 Essex Flood Disaster by
On a stormy evening in January 1953, Peggy Morgan kissed her five-year-old son goodnight, blissfully unaware of the impending catastrophe. Before sunrise the next morning the North Sea had destroyed her home and Peggy was a childless widow.There had been no prediction, no warning. Men, women and children lost their lives in Essex on that fateful night and the lives of survivors were changed forever. The lucky ones awoke when ice-cold seawater burst through their doors and windows. Those not so lucky slept on towards death.This book captures, in the words of the survivors, the essence of life in the low-lying coastal areas before the disaster. Those who lived tell how, with dogged determination, they prevailed against unimaginable adversity: their stories of courage and fortitude are told simply and without self pity. And for the first time those who died have their story told.Illustrated with many previously unpublished photographs, the awe-inspiring and heartrending stories of survivors and victims of the 1953 Essex floods are told here for the first time.
Managing Coastal Tourism Resorts by
The vast majority of existing academic research of coastal tourism resort management has been undertaken in northern and southern Europe at the expense of a wider global consideration. This book aims to address this deficit and develop a global perspective on the management issues facing coastal resorts. By drawing on examples, it incorporates a detailed analysis of a range of economic, socio-cultural, political and environmental issues which are being experienced, to differing extents, by coastal tourism resorts which are at different life-cycle stages of development. The major management themes highlighted include the processes of restructuring, attempts to develop sustainable agendas and environmental issues of developing resorts in sensitive areas. Written by key experts, this book provides a critical assessment of the key management issues facing coastal tourism resorts globally. In doing so, it represents more than a mere amalgamation of existing literature as it aims to advance conceptual understanding of resort evolution and change.
England's Sea Fisheries by
Fish and fishermen have played a fundamental role in the provision of food in England for the last 1,000 years and this work sets out to get to the heart of every aspect of England's fisheries.
Resorts and Ports by
Histories of seaports and coastal resorts have usually been kept in separate compartments. This book brings them together and looks at how resort development affected historic ports during the rise and development of the seaside holiday in Europe from the 18th century to the 20th, and what the attributes of ports (fishing, harbour crafts, the whiff of the exotic, fishermen's homes and families) contributed to the attractions of resorts. Case-studies drawn from across Europe, from Wales and the Netherlands to Norway, Latvia and Spain, bring original perspectives to bear on these histories and relationships, and consider their influence on seaside heritage and regeneration at a time when coastal settlements are increasingly using their past to secure their future. The book will interest academics in tourism studies, history, geography and cultural studies, as well as provide essential information and analysis for policy-makers in coastal regeneration.
England's Seaside Resorts by
For three centuries people have headed to the seaside. Although this was initially limited to a few wealthy people in search of cures for their ailments, during the 19th and 20th centuries a day at the seaside came within the reach of everyone. This change in the type and numbers of visitors has had a huge impact on coastal towns, transforming them from small working towns to the lively resorts we know, and love, today. Seaside resorts differ from inland towns in a number of important ways; there are types of buildings designed to entertain visitors and the character of all types of structures near the seafront have an exuberance rarely matched elsewhere. England's Seaside Resorts, the culmination of four years of research, combines new information derived from the resorts themselves with a re-examination of many of the most significant, original documents. All stretches of the coastline, and all sizes of resorts, have been studied to explain what gives the seaside towns their special character. A large number of new photographs taken for this project, along with a selection of historic images from the National Monuments Record, provide a unique insight into England's favourite holiday destinations. So pack up your buckets and spades and enjoy a trip to the seaside.
The Sea Around Us by
Published in 1951, The Sea Around Us is one of the most remarkably successful books ever written about the natural world. Rachel Carson's rare ability to combine scientific insight with moving, poetic prose catapulted her book to first place on The New York Times best-seller list, where itenjoyed wide attention for thirty-one consecutive weeks. It remained on the list for more than a year and a half and ultimately sold well over a million copies, has been translated into 28 languages, inspired an Academy Award-winning documentary, and won both the 1952 National Book Award and theJohn Burroughs Medal.This classic work remains as fresh today as when it first appeared. Carson's writing teems with stunning, memorable images--the newly formed Earth cooling beneath an endlessly overcast sky; the centuries of nonstop rain that created the oceans; giant squids battling sperm whales hundreds offathoms below the surface; and incredibly powerful tides moving 100 billion tons of water daily in the Bay of Fundy. Quite simply, she captures the mystery and allure of the ocean with a compelling blend of imagination and expertise.Reintroducing a classic work to a whole new generation of readers, this Special Edition features a new chapter written by Jeffrey Levinton, a leading expert in marine ecology, that brings the scientific side of The Sea Around Us completely up to date. Levinton incorporates the most recentthinking on continental drift, coral reefs, the spread of the ocean floor, the deterioration of the oceans, mass extinction of sea life, and many other topics. In addition, acclaimed nature writer Ann Zwinger has contributed a brief foreword.Today, with the oceans endangered by the dumping of medical waste and ecological disasters such as the Exxon oil spill in Alaska, this illuminating volume provides a timely reminder of both the fragility and the importance of the ocean and the life that abounds within it. Anyone who loves thesea, or who is concerned about our natural environment, will want to read this classic work.
The Lure of the Sea by
This wonderful book explores the dramatic change in Western attitude toward the sea and seaside pleasures that occurred between 1750 and 1840. Interest in travel; the arrival of landscape painting, geology, and natural theology; fashions in medicine and the advent of the bathing-machi≠ the emergence of Romanticism and the Sublime--these are only some of the elements that helped transform perceptions. There was no sea in the Garden of Eden, and for centuries the Earth's ocean was looked upon with hostility, as a chaotic remnant of the flood. But by the time Jane Austen wrote Sandition--perhaps the first 'seaside' novel--in 1817, the sea and shore had come to be viewed as something intensely and sensuously pleasurable, with beach holidays all the rage in new resorts from Brighton and Scarborough to Dieppe. "A compact and brilliant taxonomy of the shifting meanings of the sea and shore."--The New York Review of Books
In and Around Victorian Felixstowe: A Collection of Over 160 Victorian Photos by 
The Playful Crowd by
During the first part of the twentieth century thousands of working-class New Yorkers flocked to Coney Island in search of a release from their workaday lives and the values of bourgeois society. On the other side of the Atlantic, British workers headed off to the beach resort of Blackpool for entertainment and relaxation. However, by the middle of the century, a new type of park began to emerge, providing well-ordered, squeaky-clean, and carefully orchestrated corporate entertainment. Contrasting the experiences of Coney Island and Blackpool with those of Disneyland and Beamish, Gary S. Cross and John K. Walton explore playful crowds and the pursuit of pleasure in the twentieth century to offer a transatlantic perspective on changing ideas about leisure, class, and mass culture. Blackpool and Coney Island were the definitive playgrounds of the industrial working class. Teeming crowds partook of a gritty vulgarity that offered a variety of pleasures and thrills from roller coaster rides and freak shows to dance halls and dioramas of exotic locales. Responding to the new money and mobility of the working class, the purveyors of Coney Island and Blackpool offered the playful crowd an "industrial saturnalia."Cross and Walton capture the sights and sounds of Blackpool and Coney Island and consider how these "Sodoms by the sea" flouted the social and cultural status quo. The authors also examine the resorts' very different fates as Coney Island has now become a mere shadow of its former self while Blackpool continues to lure visitors and offer new attractions. The authors also explore the experiences offered at Disneyland and Beamish, a heritage park that celebrates Britain's industrial and social history. While both parks borrowed elements from their predecessors, they also adapted to the longings and concerns of postwar consumer culture. Appealing to middle-class families, Disney provided crowds a chance to indulge in child-like innocence and a nostalgia for a simpler time. At Beamish, crowds gathered to find an escape from the fragmented and hedonistic life of modern society in a reconstructed realm of the past where local traditions and nature prevail.
Box Boats by
Fifty years ago - on April 26, 1956 - the freighter Ideal X steamed fromBerth 26 in Port Newark, New Jersey. Flying the flag of thePan-Atlantic Steamship Company, she set out for Houston with anunusual cargo: 58 trailer trucks lashed to her top deck. But theyweren't trucks - they were steel containers removed from their runninggear, waiting to be lifted onto empty truck beds when Ideal X reachedTexas. She docked safely, and a revolution was launched - not only inshipping, but in the way the world trades. Today, the more than 200million containers shipped every year are the lifeblood of the new globaleconomy.
Recreation and the Sea by
Leisure studies have become an increasingly important area of research within social history. In six original essays and an Introduction by established historians, Recreation and the Sea focuses on the theme of the sea and leisure activities in England and Continental Europe.
Sea Change : Britain's Coastal Catastrophe by 
Oceans and Marine Resources in a Changing Climate by
Prepared for the 2013 National Climate Assessment and a landmark study in terms of its breadth and depth of coverage, Oceans and Marine Resources in a Changing Climate is the result of a collaboration among numerous local, state, federal, and nongovernmental agencies to develop a comprehensive, state of the art look at the effects of climate change on the oceans and marine ecosystems under U.S. jurisdiction. This book provides an assessment of scientific knowledge of the current and projected impacts of climate change and ocean acidification on the physical, chemical, and biological components and human uses of marine ecosystems under U.S. jurisdiction. It also provides assessment of the international implications for the U.S. due to climate impacts on ocean ecosystems and of efforts to prepare for and adapt to climate and acidification impacts on ocean ecosystem, including · Climate-Driven Physical and Chemical Changes in Marine Ecosystems · Impacts of Climate Change on Marine Organisms · Impacts of Climate Change on Human Uses of the Ocean · International Implications of Climate Change · Ocean Management Challenges, Adaptation Approaches, and Opportunities in a Changing Climate · Sustaining the Assessment of Climate Impacts on Oceans and Marine Resources Rich in science and case studies, it examines the latest climate change impacts, scenarios, vulnerabilities, and adaptive capacity and offers decision makers and stakeholders a substantial basis from which to make informed choices that will affect the well-being of the region's inhabitants in the decades to come.
The Seaside, Health and the Environment in England and Wales Since 1800 by
The seaside has always held a special position in British history as a place of rest, relaxation and recuperation. Over the last 200 years many have made their way to the coast, attracted by the long sunshine hours, the clean ozone-charged air and the opportunities for bathing in and even drinking sea-water. Although the early health resort ideal began to give way to more pleasure orientated themes in the nineteenth century, the seaside holiday was still regarded by many as a wholesome and invigorating break from inland urban life well into the twentieth century. Yet with ever increasing numbers of visitors and rising levels of coastal pollution, this was by no means a forgone conclusion. The Seaside, Health and the Environment in England and Wales since 1800 explores the ways in which English seaside resorts continually reinvented themselves to take account of contemporary trends in popular leisure and maintain their hold on the public's imagination. Particular account is paid to the interwar years when new obsessions with outdoor activities such as sunbathing and tanning were purposefully adopted by the industry to define the modern image of the resort holiday. For these and other reasons the seaside holiday reached new peaks of popularity in the 1930s and 1950s, yet, this very success placed enormous pressures on the environmental amenities that people came to enjoy. As this work shows, environmental stresses were manifold, particularly pollution of the resorts' prime assets, their beaches. As such, serious questions are raised concerning why it took such a long time for a determined effort to be made to reverse beach pollution, and the lessons to be learned regarding the impact of negative images of the coast as a zone of danger and infection.
Britain and the Sea by
O'Hara presents the first general history of Britons' relationship with the surrounding oceans from 1600 to the present day. This all-encompassing account covers individual seafarers, ship-borne migration, warfare and the maritime economy, as well as the British people's maritime ideas and self perception throughout the centuries.
Disappearing Destinations by
Providing a thorough examination of the threats posed to destinations by tourism, this comprehensive text discusses how popular and fragile destinations, such as the Great Barrier Reef, could become severely damaged and forced to close to tourists if current tourism trends continue. The consequences of tourism growth, predicted changes, and management and policy responses are reviewed. The book will explore tourism in the context of climate change and vulnerable environments, exploring the situation at local level and in a wider perspective using international case studies throughout and providing future recommendations. It will be an essential text for researchers, policymakers and students in tourism, ecotourism, environmental conservation, planning, coastal management and engineering, climate change and marine conservation.
The Box by
In April 1956, a refitted oil tanker carried fifty-eight shipping containers from Newark to Houston. From that modest beginning, container shipping developed into a huge industry that made the boom in global trade possible. The Box tells the dramatic story of the container's creation, the decade of struggle before it was widely adopted, and the sweeping economic consequences of the sharp fall in transportation costs that containerization brought about. But the container didn't just happen. Its adoption required huge sums of money, both from private investors and from ports that aspired to be on the leading edge of a new technology. It required years of high-stakes bargaining with two of the titans of organized labor, Harry Bridges and Teddy Gleason, as well as delicate negotiations on standards that made it possible for almost any container to travel on any truck or train or ship. Ultimately, it took McLean's success in supplying U.S. forces in Vietnam to persuade the world of the container's potential. Drawing on previously neglected sources, economist Marc Levinson shows how the container transformed economic geography, devastating traditional ports such as New York and London and fueling the growth of previously obscure ones, such as Oakland. By making shipping so cheap that industry could locate factories far from its customers, the container paved the way for Asia to become the world's workshop and brought consumers a previously unimaginable variety of low-cost products from around the globe. Published in hardcover on the fiftieth anniversary of the first container voyage, this is the first comprehensive history of the shipping container. Now with a new chapter, The Box tells the dramatic story of how the drive and imagination of an iconoclastic entrepreneur turned containerization from an impractical idea into a phenomenon that transformed economic geography, slashed transportation costs, and made the boom in global trade possible.
Europe and the Maritime World by
Europe and the Maritime World: A Twentieth-Century History offers a new framework for understanding globalization over the past century. Through a detailed analysis of ports, shipping, and trading companies whose networks spanned the world, Michael B. Miller shows how a European maritime infrastructure made modern production and consumer societies possible. He argues that the combination of overseas connections and close ties to home ports contributed to globalization. Miller also explains how the ability to manage merchant shipping's complex logistics was central to the outcome of both world wars. He chronicles transformations in hierarchies, culture, identities, and port city space, all of which produced a new and different maritime world by the end of the century.
Shipping and Ports in the Twenty-First Century by
Shipping and port systems are vital to societies and lifestyles around the world. In the late twentieth century, however, assumptions concerning the robustness of these systems were severely shaken by economic shocks triggered by oil crises. This volume explores how many of the consequent uncertainties have been resolved, and how adapted systems ha
Bridging troubled waters: conflict and co-operation in the North sea region since 1550. by 
The Great Yarmouth Herring Industry by 
The British Seaside by
The annual seaside holiday became a common experience in Britain in the 1950s and 1960s, and it has a central place in our popular memory. Its recent decline has prompted nostalgia and gloom across the media, with a spate of newspaper features every summer bemoaning its decline. This is a detailed academic cultural study of the rise and fall of the seaside holiday in Britain.
The English Seaside by
For too long the English seaside has suffered from bad press, accused of being tatty, cold grey and windswept. Peter Williams' evocative photographs in this fully revised edition of his acclaimed book will make you want to rediscover what a fantastic place the seaside is - full of character,charm and "Englishness".
The Killing Of The Countryside by 
Pyrrhic Progress by
Winner of the 2021 Joan Thirsk Memorial Prize from the British Agricultural History Society​ 2020 Choice​ Outstanding Academic Title​ Winner of the 2020 Turriano Prize from ICOHTEC Short-listed and highly commended for the Antibiotic Guardian Award from Public Health England​ Long-listed for the Michel Déon Prize from the Royal Irish Academy​ Pyrrhic Progress analyses over half a century of antibiotic use, regulation, and resistance in US and British food production. Mass-introduced after 1945, antibiotics helped revolutionize post-war agriculture. Food producers used antibiotics to prevent and treat disease, protect plants, preserve food, and promote animals' growth. Many soon became dependent on routine antibiotic use to sustain and increase production. The resulting growth of antibiotic infrastructures came at a price. Critics blamed antibiotics for leaving dangerous residues in food, enabling bad animal welfare, and selecting for antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in bacteria, which could no longer be treated with antibiotics. Pyrrhic Progress reconstructs the complicated negotiations that accompanied this process of risk prioritization between consumers, farmers, and regulators on both sides of the Atlantic. Unsurprisingly, solutions differed: while Europeans implemented precautionary antibiotic restrictions to curb AMR, consumer concerns and cost-benefit assessments made US regulators focus on curbing drug residues in food. The result was a growing divergence of antibiotic stewardship and a rise of AMR. Kirchhelle's comprehensive analysis of evolving non-human antibiotic use and the historical complexities of antibiotic stewardship provides important insights for current debates on the global burden of AMR. This Open Access ebook is available under a CC-BY-NC-ND license, and is supported by a generous grant from Wellcome Trust.
Dead Zone by
'An honest, compelling and important account, and a critical plea for a fusion of farming, food and nature to provide global ecological security' CHRIS PACKHAMWhy are so many animals facing extinction?Climate change and poaching are not the only culprits. The impact of consumer demand for cheap meat is equally devastating, and it is vital that we confront this problem if we are to stand a chance of reducing its effect on the world around us.· We are falsely led to believe that squeezing animals into factory farms and cultivating crops in vast, chemical-soaked prairies is a necessary evil, an efficient means of providing for an ever-expanding global population while leaving land free for wildlife· Our planet's resources are reaching breaking point: awareness is slowly building that the wellbeing of society depends on a thriving natural world From the author of the internationally acclaimed Farmageddon, Dead Zone takes us on an eye-opening journey across the globe, focussing on a dozen iconic species - from elephants to bumblebees to penguins - and looking at the role that industrial farming is playing in their plight.
Farmageddon by
Farm animals have been disappearing from our fields as the production of food has become a global industry. We no longer know for certain what is entering the food chain and what we are eating. We are reaching a tipping point as the farming revolution threatens our countryside, health and the quality of our food wherever we live in the world.From the antibiotics routinely given to industrially farmed animals to the chemicals that are killing our insect populations, Farmageddon is a fascinating and terrifying investigative journey behind the closed doors of a runaway industry across the world - from Europe to the USA, from China to Latin America. It is both a wake-up call to change our current food production and eating practices, and an attempt to find a way to a better farming future.
Silent Summer: The State of Wildlife in Britain and Ireland by 
Global America? by
Many contemporary issues cannot be readily or fully understood at the level of the nation state and the concept of globalization is used to develop understanding through the analysis of global (transnational) processes. This volume explores the phenomenon of Americanization, and its worldwide impact, and the cultural consequences of globalization.
Moments of Modernity by
Covering the crucial decades after 1945, this text brings together the work of leading scholars who question standard interpretations of modernity. Topics covered include jazz in the 50s, race and decolonisation, masculinity and politics and more.
Youth Culture in Modern Britain, C. 1920-C. 1970 by
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.
Pop Dreams by
In one compact volume, POP DREAMS analyzes the trends, events, and personalities that influenced American culture from 1945 to 1970. The discussion broadens students' understanding of major events in popular culture by putting those events in historical context.
A Companion to Contemporary Britain 1939 - 2000 by
A Companion to Contemporary Britain covers the key themes and debates of 20th-century history from the outbreak of the Second World War to the end of the century. Assesses the impact of the Second World War Looks at Britain's role in the wider world, including the legacy of Empire, Britain's 'special relationship' with the United States, and integration with continental Europe Explores cultural issues, such as class consciousness, immigration and race relations, changing gender roles, and the impact of the mass media Covers domestic politics and the economy Introduces the varied perspectives dominating historical writing on this period Identifies the key issues which are likely to fuel future debate
Global History by
Globalization is the buzz-word of today. It envelops our world, but it also has long historical roots. This edited volume shows how the universal principles embodied in the process of globalization have interacted with diverse localities across the globe during the past two centuries. A. G. Hopkins presents a collection of fresh case studies that draw on different parts of the world - ranging from the Navajo reservation to Japan, via the Middle East and Vietnam - and cover various types of history: economic, political, social, cultural and intellectual. Hopkins's Introduction places the new global history in the context of national history and world history; William H. McNeill, the pioneering historian of large-scale history, concludes the volume with a reflective Afterword. The historical record demonstrates that globalization has not only produced uniformity but has also reinforced difference. Global History offers a coherent explanation of these diverging outcomes, and in doing so points towards a new type of world history. It is essential reading for anyone studying international history, world history, globalization, or world politics.
Buffalo Bill in Bologna by
When it comes to the production and distribution of mass culture, no country in modern times has come close to rivaling the success of America. From blue jeans in central Europe to Elvis Presley's face on a Republic of Chad postage stamp, the reach of American mass culture extends into every corner of the globe. Most believe this is a twentieth-century phenomenon, but here Robert W. Rydell and Rob Kroes prove that its roots are far deeper. Buffalo Bill in Bologna reveals that the process of globalizing American mass culture began as early as the mid-nineteenth century. In fact, by the end of World War I, the United States already boasted an advanced network of culture industries that served to promote American values. Rydell and Kroes narrate how the circuses, amusement parks, vaudeville, mail-order catalogs, dime novels, and movies developed after the Civil War--tools central to hastening the reconstruction of the country--actually doubled as agents of American cultural diplomacy abroad. As symbols of America's version of the "good life," cultural products became a primary means for people around the world, especially in Europe, to reimagine both America and themselves in the context of America's growing global sphere of influence. Paying special attention to the role of the world's fairs, the exporting of Buffalo Bill's Wild West show to Europe, the release of The Birth of a Nation, and Woodrow Wilson's creation of the Committee on Public Information, Rydell and Kroes offer an absorbing tour through America's cultural expansion at the turn of the century. Buffalo Bill in Bologna is thus a tour de force that recasts what has been popularly understood about this period of American and global history.
White Heat 1964-1970 by
Harold Wilson's famous reference to 'white heat' captured the optimistic spirit of a society in the midst of breathtaking change. From the gaudy pleasures of Swinging London to the tragic bloodshed in Northern Ireland, from the intrigues of Westminster to the drama of the World Cup, British life seemed to have taken on a dramatic new momentum. The memories, images and colourful personalities of those heady times still resonate today: mop-tops and mini-skirts, strikes and demonstrations, Carnaby Street and Kings Road, Harold Wilson and Edward Heath, Mary Quant and Jean Shrimpton, Enoch Powell and Mary Whitehouse, Marianne Faithfull and Mick Jagger. In this wonderfully rich and readable historical narrative, Dominic Sandbrook looks behind the myths of the Swinging Sixties to unearth the contradictions of a society caught between optimism and decline.
Cherry Tree by
Adrian Bell (1901-1980) was born in Lancashire and grew up in London but wished for a life in the open air. In 1920 he apprenticed himself to a West Suffolk farmer, an experience that would inspire him to farm on his own. His celebrated trilogy Corduroy (1930), Silver Ley (1931) and The Cherry Tree (1932) grew out of that same raw material. The Cherry Tree (1932) finds Bell back at the helm of the Silver Ley farm whose running he took over in the second panel of the trilogy. The farming business remains in a parlous state beset by high costs, and Bell is forced to scale back his ambitions for crop-growing while continuing to breed cattle and horses. But perhaps the greatest upheaval the book describes is the tale of how he 'wearied of solitude and married a wife.'
Men and the Fields by
Adrian Bell's travels through East Anglia and lowland Britain capture the character of the countryside before modern agriculture altered the landscape and changed forever the way we eat and live.
Akenfield: portrait of an English village by 
Word from Wormingford by
This is an autobiographical calendar of the rural parish year in the little united benefice of Wormingford, Mount Bures and Little Horkesley. Where beneath the changes of the late 20th century, there are inflexible values in rural life.
At the Yeoman's House by
When in 1947 the young writer Ronald Blythe first visited Bottengoms Farm on the Essex-Suffolk border, the ancient house of the artists John and Christine Nash, he could not have guessed that this would in time become his own home and the centre of the writing life. It was to bring him fame with publication of his study of rural life, Akenfield (1969), now a Penguin Modern Classic. The old farm nestled in a valley, in a landscape little changed since the middle ages, immediately surrounded by a richly stocked garden created by the Nashes from the flinty fields. From his current perspective, Blythe looks back with affection to the friendships with artists, writers, farmers, gardeners and neighbors that were to enrich his life. At the Yeoman's House is not merely a spellbinding fragment of autobiography, but also a fascinating picture of the history, topography, botany and folk-lore of a beautiful corner of England made famous in the paintings of John Constable and through Blythe's own enchanting books.
The time by the sea : Aldeburgh 1955-58 by The Pattern Under the Plough: Aspects of the Folk-Life of East Anglia by The Strength of the Hills by
Born in the mining town of Abercynon, South Wales, George Ewart Evans (1909-88) was a pioneering oral historian. In 1948 he settled with his family in Blaxhall, Suffolk, and through conversing with his neighbours he developed an interest in their dialect and the aspects of rural life which they described. Many were agricultural labourers, born before the turn of the century, who had worked on farms before the arrival of mechanisation. With the assistance of a tape recorder he collected oral evidence of the dialect, rural customs, traditions and folklore throughout East Anglia, and this work, reinforced by documental research, provided the background for his renowned East Anglian books.
The Crooked Scythe by
George Ewart Evans, who wrote the classic Ask the Fellows Who Cut the Hay, was one of the pioneers of oral history. This anthology is drawn from his writings about the memories of men and women of a past era - farm labourers, shepherds, horsemen, blacksmiths, wheelwrights, sailors, fisherman, miners, maltsters, domestic servants and many others. The anthology is edited and includes drawings by David Gentleman. 'A pleasure to look at and a delight to read . . . A treasury of country folklore in words and pictures, and a monument to a great and pioneering man . . . It is right that the past should be heard of in the words of those who lived it . . . Those who actually cut the hay.' Daily Telegraph
Spirits of Community by
Concern about the 'decline of community', and the theme of 'community spirit', are internationally widespread in the modern world. The English past has featured many representations of declining community, expressed by those who lamented its loss in quite different periods and in diverse genres. This book analyses how community spirit and the passing of community have been described in the past - whether for good or ill - with an eye to modern issues, such as the so-called 'loneliness epidemic' or the social consequences of alternative structures of community.It does this through examination of authors such as Thomas Hardy, James Wentworth Day, Adrian Bell and H.E. Bates, by appraising detective fiction writers, analysing parish magazines, considering the letter writing of the parish poor in the 18th and 19th centuries, and through the depictions of realist landscape painters such as George Morland. K. D. M. Snell addresses modern social concerns, showing how many current preoccupations had earlier precedents. In presenting past representations of declining communities, and the way these affected individuals of very different political persuasions, the book draws out lessons and examples from the past about what community has meant hitherto, setting into context modern predicaments and judgements about 'spirits of community' today.
Return to Akenfield by
An update on Akenfield, the English village of Ronald Blythe's best-selling book, showing how village life has changed in 35 years.
