I've been really impressed by the reviews of Austerity Britain, 1945-1951, by the historian David Kynaston. He uses Mass Observation Reports, and diary extracts to convey the experience of living through these years. I was fascinated by the description of the origin and use of the Mass Observation Reports.
There are some really fine works on social history in the UK and work by Peter Hennessy is well worth looking up; in addition, I recommend Nicholas Timmins's remarkable book on postwar Britain, 'The Five Giants - A Biography of the Welfare State' for its insights into how policymakers were pushed and pulled into the decisions they took on welfare issues.
Mass Observation is fascinating. i had not heard of this before. i dont suppose we tried any like this over here before opinion polling kicked off in the 60s?
ReplyDeleteI don't think we have tried this before, Liam: I have Jack Jones's book on opinion polling in Ireland and there's nothing similar to mass reports mentioned in it...
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