State of Emergency: Britain, 1970-1974

Part of: History of Modern Britain Book (3 books)

State of Emergency: Britain 1970-74
A brilliant history of the gaudy, schizophrenic atmosphere of the early Seventies.

The early 1970s were a time of stark contrasts — an age of gloom and glam. Under Edward Heath, the optimism of the Sixties had faded into a distant memory. Headlines were dominated by:

• Social unrest
• Fuel shortages
• Unemployment
• Inflation

Yet, despite these challenges, the Seventies were also years of stunning change and cultural dynamism. These years heralded a social revolution that brought:

• Celebrity footballers
• High-street curry houses
• Package holidays
• Gay rights
• Green activists
• Progressive rock

This was the world of Enoch Powell and Tony Benn, David Bowie and Brian Clough, Germaine Greer and Mary Whitehouse.

Dominic Sandbrook's State of Emergency serves as the perfect guide to this luridly colourful Seventies landscape — a landscape that shaped our present, from the financial boardroom to the suburban bedroom.

Praise for State of Emergency:

• "Hugely entertaining, always compelling, often hilarious" – Simon Sebag Montefiore, Sunday Telegraph
• "Thrillingly panoramic ... he vividly re-creates the texture of everyday life in a thousand telling details" – Francis Wheen, Observer
• "Masterly ... nothing escapes his gaze" – Independent on Sunday
• "Splendidly readable ... his almost pitch-perfect ability to recreate the mood and atmospherics of the time is remarkable" – Economist