This is the first volume of a trilogy by Dominic Sandbrook covering the history of Britain from the mid-1950s to the early 1980s. This volume begins with the Suez Crisis in 1956 and ends with the rise of Beatlemania in 1963 and sets the scene for a significant change in government in 1964.

Sandbrook has produced a detailed examination of the political and social history of Britain during these times. His focus is domestic, rarely giving more than an overview of foreign affairs except where these have a significant impact on the home front.

The book exposes a number of themes in British history and society:

- the weakening influence of Britain on the global stage with the failure of Suez, the giving up of colonial holdings and the failure to join the Common Market.

- structural cracks in the governance of the country with the growing influence of the political strength of the middle classes and unions.

- an expanding youth oriented society, focusing on music.

- the increasing power of television as a popular communication medium.

Sandbrook writes well. He provides a strong narrative momentum and his analysis is insightful and well-argued.

An excellent, detailed and readable history. ( )

The first of Sandbrook's 'post-war' series, this is well researched, full of detail and covers a diverse array of material. It escapes the fixation of many history books with politics (I had to wait a long time for an account of the Profumo Affair) although gives creditable coverage. The sections on culture and social history are interesting and the book is a better read for the fact that it has a mild thesis running through it (that of challenging the belief that changes in social attitudes and quality of life were powerful themes in the period). ( )

Dominic Sandbrook set out to write a large book recounting British history during the 1960s, but was faced with the problem of determining at which point to start. The obvious answer might have seemed to be either 1960 or 1961. History is, however, a continuum rather than am infinite series of discrete episodes, and Sandbrook decided that he needed to go back into the previous decade in order to set the appropriate context. As a consequence, he ended up writing two huge books, the first of which chronicles British history from the Suez crisis through to the demise of the Conservative government led Harold Macmillan and, briefly, Alec Douglas-Home.

And what a marvellous and engrossing book. There is no aspect of British life that he has not considered. While the principal focus is on the political events that saw Britain emerging from post-war austerity and move through economic growth into relative affluence, Sandbrook also explores the nature of public health and education services, the emergence of radio and television broadcasters, newly popular trends in literature and the arts, and the surge of teenage affluence as a major aspect of the national economy. The breadth of subject matter works effectively – it might too easily have been detrimental to the book, taking the reader off at too many tangents, but Sandbrook identifies cohesive threads across and utilises them well. Despite the sheer size of the book, the reader’s attention never flags.

Sandbrook also has that happy knack of combining his extensive research and detailed analysis of the times with an account that is immediately accessible and engaging. Indeed, at times, the book flowed almost like a novel, so clear was his portrayal of the leading characters. He also effectively demonstrates the cyclical aspect of so much of our history. Following the Suez Crisis, Anthony Eden succumbed to ill health, to be succeeded unexpectedly by Harold Macmillan rather than Rab Butler, who had appeared to have been groomed as Eden’s natural successor. Seven years later, Harold Macmillan would himself step down as Prime Minister to be succeeded by another rank outsider in Sir Alec Douglas-Home. ( )

I enjoyed it because I like reading history and this book covered a period of my childhood so it was lived history where I could compare the author's descriptions with my own memories. It's well-written and easy to read. Particularly strong on social and cultural history although sometimes spent far too long on some aspects of popular culture (albeit important aspects) e.g. the Beatles (well trod territory) and James Bond (far too much detail - virtually a fan's eye view). ( )

Though it took me a few months, I finally finished this massive book and I am looking forward to reading the sequel, White Heat. I thought Sandbrook did an excellent job of making this period in British history come alive. I enjoy reading popular history and this included a little bit of everything, skillfully interwoven: politics, economics, literature, pop culture, demographics. Sandbrook writes very fluently and his prose is enjoyable to read.

I had many stereotypes about this era. I think of it as a long gray period between the war and the Swinging Sixties. Sandbrook's main thesis is that we should throw away such assumptions in favor of a gradualist perspective that gives due credit to the late 50s and early 60s as a dynamic and crucial period that shaped the later decades of the century. I came very heartily to agree with him.

I have one complaint: there were some problems with repetition. Not just repetition of ideas, but re-deployment of quotations from primary sources two and sometimes three times at different points in the text. This felt unnecessary--it's not as if there isn't enough material to work from--and, given the book's length, contributed to a reading experience that sometimes felt unwieldy. ( )