Smoke in the Valley by David Kynaston

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This is the second half of the author's previously published Austerity Britain 1948-51, an account of how this country coped with the postwar years when the British still lived on powdered egg, snoek and promises of a better menu. The National Health Service was in its infancy and the rush was on for drugs, spectacles and false teeth. The story is told through myriad eyes, from the hubristic to the humble, and mercifully there is not a lifestyle in sight, this being a sensible and sobering account of people just getting on with their lives and, for the most part, making their own entertainment.

Fittingly, it ends with the 1951 FA Cup Final, when footballers were still recognisably human..

Synopsis by Foyles.co.uk

David Kynaston's "Austerity Britain" 1945-51, the first book in his series "Tales of a New Jerusalem", was a major "Sunday Times" bestseller in 2007. Here is the second volume from this landmark book covering 1948-51. Continuing his groundbreaking series about post-war Britain, Kynaston presents a breathtaking portrait of our nation through eyewitness accounts, newspapers of the time and previously unpublished diaries. Drawing on the everyday experiences of people from all walks of life, "Smoke in the Valley" covers the length and breadth of the country to tell its story. This is an unsurpassed social history: intensely evocative to those who were there and eye-opening for their children and grandchildren.