Synopses & Reviews
Drawing upon a wide array of sources, Martin Wiener explores the English ambivalence to modern industrial society.
Review
"An important book, one that deserves to be read and pondered by everybody who has some portion of Britain's destiny in his (or her) hands." The Economist
Synopsis
England was the world's first great industrial nation, yet the English have never been comfortable with industrialism. Drawing upon a wide array of sources, Martin Wiener explores the English ambivalence to modern industrial society. In this edition, Wiener revisits the historiography of the last few decades.
About the Author
Martin J. Wiener is the Mary Jones Professor of History at Rice University. His previous books include Between Two Worlds: The Political Thought of Graham Wallas (1971), Reconstructing the Criminal (Cambridge, 1990), and Men of Blood: Violence, Manliness, and Criminal Justice in Victorian England (Cambridge, 2003).
Table of Contents
Preface to the first edition; Introduction to the new edition; Part I. The Setting: 1. The Janus face of modern English culture; 2. Victorial society: accommodation and absorption; Part II. A World View: 3. A counterrevolution of values; 4. The 'English way of life'?; 5. The wrong path?; Part III. Toward Behavior: Introduction; 6. Images and politics; 7. The gentrification of the industrialist; Part IV. Industrialism and English Values: 8. An overview and an assessment; Appendix: British retardation - the limits of economic explanation; Notes; Index.