Not only a pleasure to read, but also easy to use as a reference work ... It is difficult to do justice to the richness of the canvass painted by Pugh, which is awe-inspiring both in its breadth and depth ... [Pugh] offers a brilliant analysis of popular attitudes to the state.

Journal of Liberal History

As well as being an enjoyable read from cover-to-cover, the book is a superb resource for teaching and learning. It also possesses the advantage of being incredibly judicious and balanced.

Christopher Hill, Birmingham City University, UK

Bringing his well-established book down to the present, Martin Pugh continues to be hard-hitting, contentious and disturbing. Readers wanting a sustained and straightforward passage to sunlit uplands should look elsewhere. Across the entire period social structures, political programmes, foreign and economic policies, gender relations, industrial and commercial performance, wealth and poverty are among the many matters that come under critical scrutiny in compact, well-structured and easily accessible sections. Connect them, and you will find a coherently sustained picture of modern Britain which invites debate and argument.

Keith Robbins, formerly University of Wales, Lampeter, UK

State and Society is one of the best introductions to British political history in the long twentieth century available now. Pugh shows the connections between key political, economic and social changes. This synthesis is the book's most impressive achievement because it presents a clear and decisive, yet not simplistic, narrative. State and Society is an accessible and thought-provoking survey for university students at all levels and curious general readers alike.

Toby Harper, Providence College, USA

No single text better illustrates the interconnections between party politics and economic policy in relation to their long-term consequences for the lives of individuals. State and Society delivers an engaging analysis of the broad sweep of British history, and with a level of detail that makes it possible to understand how core areas such as budget priorities, currency values, and the balance of trade shaped critical decisions. It provides readers with the means to better grasp the rights and responsibilities of citizenship, and to understand how political and economic forces have shaped those rights and responsibilities over time.

Charles Upchurch, Florida State University, USA