A Northern Wind: Britain 1962-65 (Hardback) - David Kynaston

A WATERSTONES, TIMES, TELEGRAPH, BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE AND SPECTATOR BOOK OF THE YEAR The early sixties in Britain told as only David Kynaston ('the most entertaining historian alive' Spectator) can. Running from 1962 to 1965, A Northern Wind is the anticipated new volume in the landmark 'Tales of a New Jerusalem' series. 'Addictively readable . . . Kynaston's tireless research turns up plenty of gems' Dominic Sandbrook, Sunday Times 'A breathtaking array of treasures' TLS 'Magisterial' Financial Times 'Here is an intricate tapestry that conveys the essence of time' Literary Review How much can change in less than two and a half years? In the case of Britain in the Sixties, the answer is: almost everything. From the seismic coming of the Beatles to a sex scandal that rocked the Tory government to the arrival at No 10 of Harold Wilson, a prime minister utterly different from his Old Etonian predecessors. A Northern Wind, the keenly anticipated next instalment of David Kynaston's acclaimed Tales of a New Jerusalem series, brings to vivid life the period between October 1962 and February 1965. Drawing upon an unparalleled array of diaries, newspapers and first-hand recollections, Kynaston's masterful storytelling refreshes familiar events - the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Big Freeze, the assassination of JFK, the funeral of Winston Churchill - while revealing in all their variety the experiences of the people living through this history. Major themes complement the compelling narrative: an anti-Establishment mood epitomised by the BBC's controversial That Was The Week That Was; a welfare state only slowly becoming more responsive to the individual needs of its users; and the rise of consumer culture, as Habitat arrived and shopping centres like Birmingham's Bull Ring proliferated. Multi-voiced, multi-dimensional and immersive, Tales of a New Jerusalem has transformed how we see and understand post-war Britain. A Northern Wind continues the journey.

About the Author

David Kynaston is a professional historian and author. He has written a four-volume history of the City of London as well as a history of the Bank of England. His continuing history of post-war Britain, 'Tales of a New Jerusalem', has so far comprised Austerity Britain, Family Britain, Modernity Britain and On the Cusp. His most recent three books have been Arlott, Swanton and the Soul of English Cricket (with Stephen Fay); Engines of Privilege: Britain's Private School Problem (with Francis Green); and Shots in the Dark: A Diary of Saturday Dreams and Strange Times.