Although nearly 90% of the population of Great Britain remained civilians throughout the war, or for a large part of it, their story has so far largely gone untold. In contrast with the thousands of books on military operations, barely any have concerned themselves with the individual's experience. The problems of the ordinary family are barely ever mentioned - food rationing, clothes rationing, the black-out and air raids get little space, and everyday shortages almost none at all.

This book is an attempt to redress the balance; to tell the civilian's story largely through their own recollections and in their own words.

'Minutely detailed, accurate, skilfully marshalled and engagingly written, it is quite the best social chronicle of the period I have read' Spectator

About the Author
Norman Longmate served in the army in World War II, and then went to Oxford University in 1947 to read Modern History. He subsequently worked as a Fleet Street journalist, as a producer of history programmes for the BBC, and for the BBC Secretariat. In 1981 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and in 1983 he left the BBC to become a full-time writer. Norman Longmate is the author of more than twenty books, mainly on the Second World War and Victorian social history, and of many radio and television scripts on historical subjects. He has frequently been employed as an historical adviser by film and television companies, most recently on the series The 1940s House.

Reviews
An immense and impressive assembly... Must surely remain an invaluable essay in the remembrance of things past * Times *
Superbly detailed and illustrated... From stirrup pumps to Spam, Norman Longmate's marvellously comprehensive panorama misses nothing. Excellent * Sunday Telegraph *
A landmine of information covering every field of civilian life in wartime from the grandeurs of the blitz to the miseries of dried eggs and the six-inch bath -- Cyril Connolly
Much of it is extremely interesting; some of it is fascinatingly out-of-the-way; and all of it contributes to building up a true picture of everyday life in England from September 1939 to August 1945 * Observer *
Mr Longmate has recruited an enormous volunteer army of home-front veterans who sent him their wartime recollections... He has brilliantly sifted and assembled the precious debris * Guardian *



Book Information
ISBN 9780712668323
Author Norman Longmate
Format Paperback
Page Count 624
Imprint Pimlico
Publisher Vintage
Weight(grams) 811g
Dimensions(mm) 234mm * 153mm * 46mm