Dr. Searle's book, first published in 1971, provides a lucid and important illumination of late-Victorian and Edwardian Britain focused through the theme of "competitiveness" and possible national "decline" which permeated so many fields of human activity and policy. This is not a political history of the traditional type nor a "history of ideas" study, but, rather, an examination of the interaction between the worlds of politics and political ideas. At this level The Quest for National Efficiency makes a significant contribution to the historiographical debate about Britain's decline during the twentieth century. But there is a second way of reading Dr. Searle's work: as, to use Barbara Tuchman's phrase, a "distant mirror." The period under review is the decade following the death of Queen Victoria yet the narrative, while set against very different circumstances, provides many "reflections" of dilemmas familiar to readers in the early 1990s. There are many similarities between Edwardian Britain, the Britain of the 1960s when the book was written, and the contemporary United States. The parallels are not labored, but their existence adds an extra dimension to this fascinating study. It is for this reason that the republication of The Quest for National Efficiency will be seen as relevant.

Between 1880 and 1939, a quarter of a million European Jews settled in England. Tananbaum explores the differing ways in which the existing Anglo-Jewish communities, local government and education and welfare organizations sought to socialize these new arrivals, focusing on the experiences of working-class women and children.

The Ireland of Ulysses was still a part of Britain. This book is the first comprehensive, historical study of Joyce's great novel in the context of Anglo-Irish political and cultural relations in the period 1880-1920. The first forty years of Joyce's life also witnessed the emergence of what historians now call English cultural nationalism. This formation was perceptible in a wide range of different discourses. Ulysses engages with many of them. In doing so, it resists, transforms, and works to transcend the effects of British rule in Ireland. The novel was written in the years leading up to Irish independence. It is powered by both a will to freedom and a will to justice. But the two do not always coincide, and Joyce does not place his art in the service of any existing political cause. His struggle for independence has its own distinctive mode. The result is a unique work of liberation - and revenge.

Winner, 2010 Edelstein Prize, Society for the History of Technology Efficiency—associated with individual discipline, superior management, and increased profits or productivity—often counts as one of the highest virtues in Western culture. But what does it mean, exactly, to be efficient? How did this concept evolve from a means for evaluating simple machines to the mantra of progress and a prerequisite for success? In this provocative and ambitious study, Jennifer Karns Alexander explores the growing power of efficiency in the post-industrial West. Examining the ways the concept has appeared in modern history—from a benign measure of the thermal economy of a machine to its widespread application to personal behaviors like chewing habits, spending choices, and shop floor movements to its controversial use as a measure of the business success of American slavery—she argues that beneath efficiency's seemingly endless variety lies a common theme: the pursuit of mastery through techniques of surveillance, discipline, and control. Six historical case studies—two from Britain, one each from France and Germany, and two from the United States—illustrate the concept's fascinating development and provide context for the meanings of, and uses for, efficiency today and in the future.

Pubs and Patriotstells the fascinating story of the loathed-by-most Central Control Board (CCB), which was charged with controlling alcohol consumption in Britain during the first World War. With concern rising during the war that boozing at home was having a detrimental effect on the military front, politicians were faced with the possibility of imposing an alcohol prohibition. Deemed far too extreme, they opted instead to create the CCB, who would be responsible for one of the most radical and unique experiments in alcohol control ever conducted in Britain. By examining the control of a central civilian pastime during war years,Pubs and Patriots provides an unconventional but illuminating way of approaching one of the most significant events of the twentieth century.

A 2017 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title award winner *********************************************** This book is an introduction to the history of alcoholic drink in England from the end of the Middle Ages to the present day. Treating the subject thematically, it covers who drank, what they drank, how much, who produced and sold drink, the places where it was enjoyed and the meanings which drinking had for people. It also looks at the varied opposition to drinking and the ways in which it has been regulated and policed. As a social and cultural history, it examines the place of drink in society and how social developments have affected its history and what it meant to individuals and groups as a cultural practice. Covering an extended period in time, this book takes in the important changes brought about by the Reformation and the processes of industrialization and urbanization. This volume also focuses on drink in relation to class and gender and the importance of global developments, along with the significance of regional and local difference. Whilst a work of history, it draws upon the insights of a range of other disciplines which have together advanced our understanding of alcohol. The focus is England, but it acknowledges the importance of comparison with the experience of other countries in furthering our understanding of England’s particular experience. This book argues for the centrality of drink in English society throughout the period under consideration, whilst emphasizing the ways in which its use, abuse and how they have been experienced and perceived have changed at different historical moments. It is the first scholarly work which covers the history of drink in England in all its aspects over such an extended period of time. Written in a lively and approachable style, this book is suitable for those who study social and cultural history, as well as those with an interest in the history of drink in England.