Commuters
The History of a British Way of Life
Published on 14. October 2016
160 pages
978-1-4738-6292-0 (ISBN)
Description
Before the Industrial Revolution, everyone lived within short walking distance of their workplace. However, all of this has now changed and many people commute large distances to work, often taking around one hour in each direction. We are now used to being stuck in traffic, crammed onto a train, rushing for connecting trains and searching for parking spaces close to the station or our workplace. Commuters explores both the history and present practice of commuting; examining how it has shaped our cities and given rise to buses, underground trains and suburban railways. Drawing upon both primary sources and modern research, Commuters tells the story of a way of life followed by millions of British workers. With sections on topics such as fictional commuters and the psychology of commuting;this is a book for everybody who has ever had to face that gruelling struggle to get to the office in time.
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Book
11/2016
Pen & Sword History
€36.08
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Person
Simon Webb is the author of a number of non-fiction books, ranging from academic works on education to popular history. He works as a consultant on the subject of capital punishment to television companies and filmmakers and also writes for various magazines and newspapers; including the Times Educational Supplement, Daily Telegraph and the Guardian.
Content
- Intro
- Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Contents
- List of Plates
- Introduction
- Chapter 1: 'Walking Suburbs': The Birth of Commuting
- Chapter 2: Paddle Steamers and Steam Trains: The Start of Public Transport in Cities
- Chapter 3: From Bob Cratchit to Reginald Perrin: The Commuter in Fiction
- Chapter 4: The Advent of the Omnibus: A Middle-Class Mode of Transport
- Chapter 5: Expanding Cities and Opening Minds: The Working-Class Commuter
- Chapter 6: Exploring the Liminal Zone: The Psychology of Commuting
- Chapter 7: Beneath the Earth: The First Underground Trains
- Chapter 8: Electric Trams and Motor Buses: Commuting in the First Half of the Twentieth Century
- Chapter 9: Lynching and Bombs: Death and the Commuter
- Chapter 10: Metroland and Becontree: A Third of the British Population become Commuters
- Chapter 11: 'With Integral Garage': The Inexorable Rise of the Commuting Motorist
- Chapter 12: Strap-hangers and the Rush Hour: The Etymology of Commuting
- Chapter 13: Gentrification, Densification and the End of the Commuter
- Bibliography
