Go To It! Working for Victory on the Home Front 1939-1945 Book

It must be practically impossible to pick up Asa Briggs' Go To It! without learning something. Excellent illustrations, informative in themselves, and inset boxes containing interesting snippets give enormous first-glance appeal. Colourful, but not superficial, this study of the part played by home labourers in Britain's war effort aims to deal with "history on the small scale". Taking the standpoint of looking at "individuals and families", it proclaims the war's unsung heroes.Go To It! reveals that "there was often as much sweat, sometimes as much blood, and even more frequently as many tears, on the Home Front as on the fighting fronts". The role of women--often dirty and dangerous--features prominently, although young men, children and the older generation are not ignored. Ten succinct chapters discuss munitions, food, coal, transport and textiles, describing the part played by a wide variety of activities from music to mining. Although not meant to be "an economic nor a social analysis", Briggs' book, accompanying an Imperial War Museum exhibition, is more than a well-balanced description of ordinary people's experiences, for it indicates how British society has been markedly influenced by a war partly fought at home. Asa Briggs has produced a volume that is both highly palatable and educational. Go To It! is thoughtful and full of interest, delivering some significant and fascinating insights. --Karen TileyRead More