Listening to Britain: Home Intelligence Reports on Britain's Finest Hour - May to September 1940 - Hardcover
First publication of a unique resource that provides fascinating insight into the mood of the nation -- at a crucial time in the Second World War when the conflict's outcome was far from certain.
From May to September 1940, during a period that saw some of the most dramatic events of the war -- the evacuation from Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain and the opening stages of the Blitz -- the Ministry of Information compiled daily reports on the morale of the nation for circulation within Whitehall.
These reports make fascinating reading: they tell the story of people's hopes and fears -- from rumours about German spies disguised as nuns to concerns about anti-Semitism in the heavily-bombed East End of London -- in all regions of the country during Britain's Finest Hour -- at a time when the fate of the nation hung in the balance.
Drawing on a wide range of informants, from the Mass-Observation social survey organisation to a network of contacts including chief constables, postal censors, doctors, parsons, publicans and trade unionists, the reports pieced together from these sources at great speed were by their very nature impressionistic, but provide us nevertheless with a unique record of contemporary feelings and perceptions at this historic juncture.
They include a wealth of curious and idiosyncratic information about the lighter and the darker aspects of life in Britain at the time, illuminating the prevalence of rumours and gossip about the threat of invasion -- as well as the importance of the introduction of tea rationing for daily life.
Edited and introduced by two leading historians of the period and published here for the first time to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the dramatic events that came to be known as Britain's Finest Hour, the complete and unabridged sequence of the daily Home Intelligence reports provides unique insight into the continuously unfolding drama of Britain at war.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
From May to September 1940, during a period that saw some of the most dramatic events of the war -- the evacuation from Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain and the opening stages of the Blitz -- the Ministry of Information compiled daily reports on the morale of the nation for circulation within Whitehall.
These reports make fascinating reading: they tell the story of people's hopes and fears -- from rumours about German spies disguised as nuns to concerns about anti-Semitism in the heavily-bombed East End of London -- in all regions of the country during Britain's Finest Hour -- at a time when the fate of the nation hung in the balance.
Drawing on a wide range of informants, from the Mass-Observation social survey organisation to a network of contacts including chief constables, postal censors, doctors, parsons, publicans and trade unionists, the reports pieced together from these sources at great speed were by their very nature impressionistic, but provide us nevertheless with a unique record of contemporary feelings and perceptions at this historic juncture.
They include a wealth of curious and idiosyncratic information about the lighter and the darker aspects of life in Britain at the time, illuminating the prevalence of rumours and gossip about the threat of invasion -- as well as the importance of the introduction of tea rationing for daily life.
Edited and introduced by two leading historians of the period and published here for the first time to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the dramatic events that came to be known as Britain's Finest Hour, the complete and unabridged sequence of the daily Home Intelligence reports provides unique insight into the continuously unfolding drama of Britain at war.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
About the Author:
PAUL ADDISON and JEREMY A. CRANG work at the Centre for the Study of the Two World Wars at the University of Edinburgh. They are the editors of The Burning Blue and Firestorm, collections of essays on the Battle of Britain and the Allied bombing of Dresden respectively.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
Review:
From the Trade Paperback edition.
"A chronicle of human infirmity and vice. But it also shows that the popular image of a British people united in adversity and displaying... extraordinary powers of patience and fortitude is essentially correct... the historical value of this evidence is enormous."
— Sunday Telegraph
"Digestible form with valuable contextual notes. There are many fleeting gems."
— Observer
From the Trade Paperback edition.
— Sunday Telegraph
"Digestible form with valuable contextual notes. There are many fleeting gems."
— Observer
From the Trade Paperback edition.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherBodley Head
- Publication date2010
- ISBN 10 1847921426
- ISBN 13 9781847921420
- BindingHardcover
- Edition number1
- Number of pages320
- EditorAddison Paul, Crang Jeremy A.
- Rating
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LISTENING TO BRITAIN: HOME INTELLIGENCE REPORTS ON BRITAIN'S FINEST HOUR, MAY-SEPTEMBER 1940
Published by
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(2010)
ISBN 10: 1847921426
ISBN 13: 9781847921420
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Listening to Britain: Home Intelligence Reports on Britain's Finest Hour - May to September 1940
Published by
Bodley Head
(2010)
ISBN 10: 1847921426
ISBN 13: 9781847921420
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Hardcover
Quantity: 1
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