The slogan for this new series of books - Shire Living Histories - is How we worked, How we played, How we lived. It certainly does 'what it says on the tin'. Well illustrated, it covers most aspects of life in Britain in the 1930s, when the country weathered a deep economic crisis, with high unemployment, wage cuts and a deterioration in living standards. Yet industrial output grew between 1933 and 1939, despite a shorter working week, more efficient techniques increasing productivity. A housing and consumer boom was fuelled by cheaper clothes and household goods, slums were cleared and new houses and flats built. Social services improved significantly and transport, pay and holiday opportunities blossomed. This book is the story of what life was like for both people who struggled and for those who lived comfortably in this age of extremes. ( )