Reading: The 1950s is a fast-paced and entertaining account of life in Britain during an extraordinary decade, as we moved from post-war austerity to the swinging sixties. There are dramas, tragedies, scandals and characters galore, all packaged in an easily readable 'dip-in' format. We can see how major national and international events impacted on the population at home, the progress made by technology and the fads and fancies of fashion and novelty. We also see how different the world of the 1950s was to the one that we inhabit, though some things (like Cliff Richard) never change from one millennium to the next. Even those who lived through the decade (and are therefore experts on the subject) should find plenty to remind, surprise, amuse and inform them on these pages.