Never Had It So Good

A History of Britain from Suez to the Beatles

By: Dominic Sandbrook

Narrated by: Roger Davis

Length: 10 hrs

Publisher's summary

'Alternately delightful and enlightening...a treat to read' Observer

'A rich treasure-chest of a book' Sunday Telegraph

In 1956 the Suez Crisis finally shattered the old myths of the British Empire and paved the way for the tumultuous changes of the decades to come. Dominic Sandbrook looks at the dramatic story of affluence and decline between 1956 and 1963.

Arguing that historians have until now been besotted by the supposed cultural revolution of the Sixties, Sandbrook re-examines the myths of this controversial period and paints a more complicated picture of a society caught between conservatism and change. He explores the growth of a modern consumer society, the impact of immigration, the invention of modern pop music and the British retreat from empire. And he tells the story of the colourful characters of the period, like Harold Macmillan, Kingsley Amis and Paul McCartney, bringing to life the experience of the first post-imperial generation, from the Notting Hill riots to the first Beatles hits, from the Profumo scandal to the cult of James Bond.

In this strikingly impressive book, he combines academic verve and insight with colourful, dramatic writing to produce a classic, ground-breaking work that has changed forever how we think about the Sixties.

©2015 Dominic Sandbrook (P)2024 Hachette Audio UK

Critic reviews

'Unforgettable vignettes and revelations in this prodigious and ground-breaking study of British life' (SUNDAY TIMES)

'A clever and engaging study of Britain as it prepared to swing into the sixties. Never Had It So Good is very good indeed' (Amanda Foreman)