About the book
1964: The Year Modern Britain Was Born
The year 1964 stood at the meeting point between post-war Britain and a more confident, questioning modern nation. Politics, music, fashion, television, crime, sport and social attitudes all seemed to be moving at once, creating a year filled with contrast, energy and uncertainty.
1964: The Year Modern Britain Was Born brings those changes together in an accessible portrait of a country at a turning point. It considers the public events that dominated newspapers alongside the cultural shifts experienced in homes, workplaces and streets. Elections and institutions mattered, but so did records, clothes, personalities and changing expectations about class and opportunity. By following one remarkable year across many areas of national life, the book helps readers understand why 1964 felt different and how its arguments and ambitions continued to influence the decades that followed.