Austerity in Britain: Rationing, Controls, and Consumption, 1939–1955. By Ina Zweiniger-Bargielowska. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. Pp. xiii, 286. $65.00.

Extract

Did the Second World War create a new sense of social unity and a consensus on domestic policy in Great Britain? Through an examination of rationing and consumption controls from 1939 to 1955, Austerity in Britain presents new evidence undermining the traditional interpretation that the war stimulated social unity and a policy consensus. Making good use of Public Record Office files, the author devotes separate chapters to the evolution of rationing policy and its effect on diet and health, popular attitudes toward rationing, the gender dimensions of rationing, and the political consequences of the postwar Labour government's continuation of rationing.