Britain and 1940 by Malcolm Smith - 9780415240765

Taylor & Francis

Britain and 1940History, Myth and Popular Memory\nAuthor(s): Malcolm Smith\nFormat: Paperback\nPublisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd, United Kingdom\nImprint: Routledge\nISBN-13: 9780415240765, 978-0415240765\nSynopsis\n1940 was the most significant year in European history this century. For Britain it was 'the finest hour', the beginning of the People's War. Britain and 1940 explores what the year meant for the people of Britain then and now.\n\nCovering the pre-history of 1940 in Britain, Malcolm Smith explores the great fear that a second world war would perhaps mean the end of British civilization and charts the development of the myths of Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain and the Blitz, and the great influence they have had on our national consciousness and on attitudes to the outside world.\n\nThe book presents students of British history with a panorama of the influences that have constructed national consciousness around a crucial moment in British history.