{"product_id":"yesterday-the-united-kingdom-from-thatcher-to-covid-9780691269870","title":"Yesterday: The United Kingdom from Thatcher to Covid","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe first major account of this transformative period in the history of Great Britain\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBetween 1990 and 2020, the United Kingdom experienced tension between unparalleled social change and a pragmatic political culture which sought continuity, compromise and gradualism. Thatcher's legacy was slowly digested, Blair's 'New Labour' thoroughly scrutinized and the decision was made after forty-seven years to leave the European Union. The UK's long-established major institutions--monarchy, parliament and the union between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland--were sorely tested. \u003ci\u003eYesterday\u003c\/i\u003e provides the first fully documented history of this pivotal time in Great Britain. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWas the UK in decline? Brian Harrison points to Britain's unsuccessful adventures in Iraq and Afghanistan and its relative economic decline, underfunded hospitals, sink schools, over-filled prisons and terrorism of both Irish and Islamic varieties. Yet there were successes. Harrison shows how the UK's participatory institutions outmanoeuvred terrorism and precariously surmounted regional, intergenerational, ethnic and social-class tensions. This vibrant, creative society saw major improvements in time, place and recruitment for work, as well as growth and innovation in conservation, digitization, tourism, consumerism, sport and the arts. Some changes were revolutionary: in family life and relations between the generations, and in the ever-changing electronic media. And if religious observance was in decline, immigrants were introducing new faiths and even a revived religious fervour while attitudes to health and death were changing fast. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA panoramic and wide-ranging analysis by a scholar at the height of his powers, \u003ci\u003eYesterday\u003c\/i\u003e paints an evocative, richly textured portrait of a people who were shedding their complacency and insularity and bracing themselves to face a very different but promising future.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Brian Harrison\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Princeton University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 05\/12\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 896\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 2.60lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.30h x 6.10w x 1.80d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780691269870\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 03\/01\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBrian Harrison\u003c\/b\u003e is emeritus professor of modern history at the University of Oxford and an emeritus fellow of Corpus Christi College. His many books include \u003ci\u003eSeeking a Role: The United Kingdom, 1951-1970\u003c\/i\u003e; \u003ci\u003eFinding a Role? The United Kingdom, 1970-1990\u003c\/i\u003e; and \u003ci\u003eDrink and the Victorians: The Temperance Question in England, 1815-1872\u003c\/i\u003e. From 2000 to 2004, he was general editor of the \u003ci\u003eOxford Dictionary of National Biography\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"booksdeli.com","offers":[{"title":"Brian Harrison \/ Hardcover \/ English","offer_id":48483881582749,"sku":"9780691269870","price":90.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0619\/5648\/9373\/files\/img_0953454d-7fc2-4898-8ec4-76b7cce44c24.jpg?v=1782289509","url":"https:\/\/booksdeli.com\/products\/yesterday-the-united-kingdom-from-thatcher-to-covid-9780691269870","provider":"booksdeli.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}