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| Rewriting the history books David Kynaston's new book, Family Britain, represents a big shift in popular historyJust how upset were the British at King George VI's death in February 1952? Very, the figures suggest. More than 300,000 people came that week to see his tomb in chilly Westminster Hall and the popular press, dutifully grief-stricken, sold millions of extra copies. But others thought the mourning excessive, and were annoyed at the BBC scrapping its schedule for "gut-aching music". Nella Last, a housewife from Barrow-in-Furness, wrote in her diary that her husband "was so 'fidgety' [that he] wouldn't have a game of card patience."Nella is one of the stars of David Kynaston's new book, Family Britain. As a historian, Kynaston doesn't rub shoulders with prime ministers, but records the views of dyspeptic civil servants and, yes, long-suffering housewives. He's not alone: Juliet Gardiner, Martin Pugh and Dominic Sandbrook are all at it, covering the view from the crowd rather than the stage.This is a big shift in popular history, which has long been dominated by books about things, rather than people. We've had microhistories of sugar, cod – even of screwdrivers (titled, inevitably, One Good Turn). Before that came the fad for what-if histories – Tory historians musing over what might have happened if only Lenin had been shot on his return from Finland.Rather than go further down this dead-end, Kynaston and others are returning to history from below. This was best sketched out more than 40 years ago by the great socialist historian EP Thompson, who set out to rescue history's losers from "the enormous condescension of posterity".Thompson wanted to show how the working class made history; not so Kynaston, who believes people at the top shape events and others react. This is history from below without the politics, but it's nonetheless entertaining and sympathetic to its subjects. One of Kynaston's best stories is in an earlier volume, and is about a government minister telling the people of Stevenage that they will soon be living in a New Town. "Gestapo! Dictator!" cry the locals, and the politician beats a hasty retreat – only to find the tyres of his ministerial car have been deflated and that sand has been poured into the petrol tank. PsychologyHistoryAditya Chakraborttyguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Software models aid genetic study Computer models of the workings of genes are helping unpick the process of aging and how toxins poison the body. news.bbc.co.uk |
Antarctica ice core headed to Reno A piece of Antarctica is being sent from Hobart to a desert laboratory in the United States to help determine the extent of recent climate change. abc.net.au |
Acid-damaged wetland restored in 'world first' Australian scientists have claimed a world first by successfully restoring a coastal wetland devastated by acid run-off in Far North Queensland. abc.net.au |
Save the tiger: Pressure mounts for tougher action HUAI KHA KHEANG WILDLIFE SANCTUARY, Thailand (AP) -- After trudging through the wilds of western Thailand for several hours, the forest rangers thought they were finally onto something: the distant sound of crunching leaves.... hosted.ap.org |