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Author Mackay, Robert, 1940-

Title The test of war : inside Britain, 1939-45 / Robert Mackay
Published London ; Philadelphia, PA : UCL Press, 1999

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Description 1 online resource (viii, 247 pages)
Contents Chapter 1 Going to war -- chapter 2 Britain on the eve of war -- chapter 3 Politics -- chapter 4 The economy at war -- chapter 5 Aliens, dissenters and outlaws -- chapter 6 Defending the land and the people -- chapter 7 Morale -- chapter 8 Adapting, enduring, escaping -- chapter 9 Time for change: the General Election -- chapter 10 Taking stock: Britain in 1945
Summary While it lasted, the Second World War dominated the life of the nations that were involved and most of those that were not. Since Britain was in at both the start and the finish her people experienced the impact of total ar in full measure. The experience was a test of the most comprehensive kind: of the institutions, of the resources, and the very cohesion of the nation. The Test of War by Robert Mackay examines how the nation responded to this test. For a generation after the ending of the war this response was represented as largely unproblematical: faced with mortal threat to their survival the people rallied around their leaders, sank their differences and bore the burdens and sacrifices that were necessary to victory. More recently, demurring voices have challeged this cosy picture by emphasizing negative features of the war as official muddle, low industrial productivity and strikes, the black market, looting and the persistence of hostile class relations. Robert Mackay re-examines these debates, arguing that, for all its imperfections, British society under threat remained vital, cohesive and optimistically creative about its future
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 236-240) and index
Notes Print version record
Subject World War, 1939-1945 -- Great Britain
HISTORY -- Europe -- Great Britain.
Manners and customs
Heimatfront
Weltkrieg 1939-1945
Tweede Wereldoorlog.
Weltkrieg II -- Grossbritannien.
Krieg -- Gesellschaft -- Grossbritannien -- Geschichte 20. Jh.
SUBJECT Great Britain -- History -- George VI, 1936-1952. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85056829
Great Britain -- Social life and customs -- 1918-1945. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh96009673
Subject Great Britain
Großbritannien
Grossbritannien -- Innenpolitik -- Geschichte 1900-1945.
Grande-Bretagne -- guerre mondiale 2.
Genre/Form History
Form Electronic book
ISBN 9781135362133
1135362130
0585460183
9780585460185
0203214714
9780203214718
0203271203
9780203271209
9786610324705
6610324700