because the war had a devastating impact on the British people, its social consequences must therefore have been equally apocalyptic and lasting. Dr. De Groot argues that prewar social structures and attitudes proved surprisingly resilient, and the innate conservatism of all classes in Britain ensured that postwar Britain was as little changed as new economic and technological circumstances allowed. There is more to the book, however, than its impressively argued thesis: rich with detail of life and culture from all levels of British society, this is a powerful and moving portrait of a nation under stress.

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