Smoke in the Valley marks the second in David Kynaston’s New Jerusalem trilogy. A World to Build was the first of the books. They form a history of the British postwar years from 1945 – 1979.

There are many reasons why we should consider these two books as one – and I suspect the next book will slot right in where the others have left off. The most noticeable aspect is that the books flow into each other. The first book ends pretty much suddenly and unexpectedly, almost mid-sentence, as does this second volume. The same could be said of chapters and sections of any of the books, as Kynaston leads us on a journey that is chronological in nature, rather than taking one aspect, cricket say and following this history through. This approach is one that the similar books White Heat and Never Had it So Good employ. Instead we jump from cricket to politics to TV to what housewives say of the transport system. And this is the joy of this book – this wandering path through the age feels almost pedestrian and haphazard yet the intellectual and research might of the work shines through on every page. Read the books in order if you like, but it’s not a pre-requisite.

There are a number of such tomes out at the moment, largely fuelled by the opening up of the national archives after the allotted 50 year secrecy wait. The Mass Observation programme forms a large chunk of the research material behind this and other books. The way that Kynaston interweaves this data along with more standard sources such as diaries, biographies and newspapers is, I think, more successful than most. Kynaston tends to quote more than other similar books I have read. These quotes moreover are specifically about the public’s view rather than the ruling elite’s – let us not forget this was the era of ruling classes.

It should be said that this is a truly interesting period of our history, specifically for Britain. The chaos and expense of war had to be dealt with and paid for. The war-loving Churchill was dealt a surprise blow with the election of the Labour government in 1945. The attempts this government made to balance the books, prop up the clearly toppling empire, and introduce social reforms such as the NHS make for great reading. The British were still subject to rationing (the cause of much griping) and were looking to the booming America for goods and style. Tie in the birth of organisations such as the European Union (or rather what was to become the EU) and other pressing foreign problems such as Korea, and you will be glad that you were not part of this government. This was a gloomy, make do and mend period of history for all. Kynaston has evoked this atmosphere along with occasional periods of collective joy.

Also top marks for including a small history of the typeface the book is set in (Garamond).

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