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Blitz Spirit

Ordinary Lives in Extraordinary Times

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Blitz Spirit

By: Becky Brown
Narrated by: Gareth Armstrong, Elliot Fitzpatrick, Alex Wingfield, Sandra Duncan, Esther Wane, Heather Long
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About this listen

For today's listener, who is living through our biggest social dislocation since the Second World War and witnessing a crisis of unprecedented proportions, Blitz Spirit is a book written to gently invite comparison and provoke questions about our place in history.

Becky Brown has selected extracts from the Mass Observation Archives to anthologise the voices of everyday people as they deal individually and collectively with the crisis of the Second World War. The diarists themselves have been selected from every level of society - from warehousemen to widows, soldiers to farmhands, WRENs to architects.

The extracts have been chosen to both uplift and to ground, to remind listeners that nothing is new, that everything can be weathered and perhaps even made better. After all, World War II saw the birth of the NHS.

©2020 Becky Brown (P)2020 Hodder & Stoughton Ltd Europe Great Britain Military War
All stars
Most relevant
Very interesting, insightful and nicely read by a variety of acting voices... Accents, age, character, attitudes bring the written diaries to life. It moves along like an excellent theatrical piece. And the many points of view of the public is quite comprehensive. Living through the points of view of covid you know its spot on. I don't understand the review re poor sound etc. It was clear and properly equalised. It's an excellent experience.

Brings Past Alive to the Present

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The narrators were good but the recording levels are different between each one. Sometimes they appearing to whisper and others are very loud indeed. Spoiled the whole experience. Please can you fix it so I can re listen to it.

Disappointed

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A stewpot of diary excerpts that bubble to the surface from nameless individuals and mostly unknown dates. The audiobook "Our Hidden Lives" was a much better book and should be visited first before sitting down to this audiobook.

A stewpot of diary excerpts.

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