Rejoice! Rejoice!: Britain in the 1980s

"A masterly mix of shrewd analysis, historical detail and telling quotes... Indispensable" – Mail on Sunday

"Among a host of recent books on the 1980s, Turner's stands out as comfortably the most entertaining" – Sunday Times

When Margaret Thatcher became prime minister in 1979, she promised to bring harmony where once there had been discord. But Britain entered the 1980s bitterly divided over its future. At stake were the souls of the great population boom of the 1960s.

Key questions defined the era:

• Would they buy into the free-market, patriotic agenda of Thatcherism?
• Or would they embrace the anti-racist, anti-sexist liberalism of the new left?

From pivotal events to cultural touchstones, Rejoice! Rejoice! revisits the defining moments of the decade:

• The miners’ strike
• The Falklands War
• The spectre of AIDS
• Iconic pop culture, including Yes Minister, championship snooker, and Boy George

This book steps back in time to relive the decade when the Iron Lady sought to remake Britain. What it discovers is a thoroughly foreign country.