A fairly unique look at the period from 1939 -1945 in Great Britain. Not a story of the RAF or US Army Air Corps or any of the various military units in action at that time but, rather, a view of life for the society as a whole. The accounts of people from all walks of life are incorporated into chapters dealing with discreet slices of life. Air raid shelters, food, education among many others. The author is adept at bringing the different voices into play and keeps a consistent weave of events without letting it deteriorate into disconnected points. This is a tricky task that is handled well. Reccommended for history enthusiasts. ( )

The soldiers and sailors had the flashy life, but this is about civilian life in Britain during WWII. a workmanlike account it was later replaced by the People's War by Calder, but still a good introduction to the deeper hardships. ( )

World War II was in many instances the defining event for modern Britain. It lasted 6 long years, two of which they were fighting Germany alone. Norman Longmate gives us an encyclopedic look at what it was like to live in the UK during those years, From rationing (which lasted until 1954) to mandatory national service for anyone under the age of 60, to the nightly bombing during the Blitz (and later attacks by V-1 and V-2 rockets) to the more friendly, but still disconcerting invasion of over a million foreign troops. one can only have boundless admiration for the British people who not only managed to keep on going, but who were remarkably cheerful about it.

Today we fight ugly little wars in far away place and no one except the families of our all volunteer armed services make any kind of sacrifice. It's instructive to read a book like this to see what people had to do when they were literally with their backs to the wall trying to save western civilization. ( )