Winner of the Orwell Prize

The second part of Peter Hennessy's celebrated Post-War Trilogy, Having it So Good: Britain in the Fifties captures Britain in an extraordinary decade, emerging from the shadow of war into growing affluence.

'If the Gods gossip, this is how it would sound' Philip Ziegler, Spectator Books of the Year

The 1950s was the decade in which Roger Bannister ran the four-minute mile, Bill Haley released 'Rock Around the Clock', rationing ended and Britain embarked on the traumatic, disastrous Suez War.

In this highly enjoyable, original book, Peter Hennessy takes his readers into front rooms, classrooms, cabinet rooms and the new high-street coffee bars of Britain to recapture, as no previous history has, the feel, the flavour and the politics of this extraordinary time of change.

'Utterly engaging ... a treat. It breathes exhilaration' Libby Purves, The Times

'A particular treat ... fine, wise and meticulously researched' Andrew Marr

'Stands clear of the field as our best narrative history of this decisive decade' Peter Clarke, Sunday Times

'A compelling narrative ... Hennessy's love of the flesh and blood of politics breathes on every page' Tim Gardam, Observer

'The late Ben Pimlott once described Hennessy as "something of a national institution". You can forget the first two of those five words' Guardian

About the Author
Peter Hennessy is one of Britain's most celebrated historians, 'who has himself become something of a national institution' (Ben Pimlott). He is Attlee Professor of Contemporary British History at Queen Mary University of London. His previous books include this book's two immediate predecessors, Never Again: Britain 1945-1951 (1992, winner of the Duff Cooper Prize and the NCR Prize for Non-fiction) and Having it so Good: Britain in the Fifties (2006, winner of the Orwell Prize for Political Writing). His other books include Cabinet (1986), Whitehall (1989), The Prime Minister: The Office and Its Holders Since 1945 (2000), The Secret State: Preparing for the Worst (2002, 2010) and, co-authored with James Jinks, The Silent Deep: The Royal Navy Submarine Service Since 1945 (2015, winner of the Duke of Westminster's Award for Military Literature and the Mountbatten Maritime Award). He was elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 2003 and created an independent crossbench life peer as Lord Hennessy of Nympsfield in 2010.

Reviews
Hennessy combines the balance and authority of a historian with the brilliantly selective eye of the investigative journalist ... if the Gods gossip this is how it would sound Books of the Year -- Philip Ziegler Spectator


Awards
Winner of Orwell Prize 2007. Short-listed for BBC Four Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction 2007.



Book Information
ISBN 9780141004099
Author Peter Hennessy
Format Paperback
Page Count 768
Imprint Penguin Books Ltd
Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
Weight(grams) 568g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 34mm