Darwen Born, Blackburn Bred: Growing up in the Age of Affluence
Darwen Born, Blackburn Bred: Growing up in the Age of Affluence

Author: Paul Laxton

Publisher: New Generation Publishing

Published: 2016-05-25

Total Pages: 299

ISBN-13: 1787190323

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This book is not a scholarly work of history, nor is it truly a memoir or an autobiography, as I am under no illusions that my life merits that kind of treatment. My standpoint is that of the participant observer, and the backdrop is provided by the proud communities of Blackburn and Darwen, where my family lived, where I was educated, and where I worked before moving on to make my own way in life. I am sure that the experiences I describe will resonate with readers in many other once prosperous industrial areas. The key theme of this book is what is what like to grow up in working class communities during what I have called the Age of Affluence, the thirty years that followed World War Two in which the working people of the United Kingdom for the only time in our industrial history, experienced unbroken full employment and saw their lives transformed as a consequence.

26 Years Behind Bars
26 Years Behind Bars

Author: Paul Laxton

Publisher:

Published: 2013-11-12

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781491883181

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The book is written from the perspective of a participant observer. It is not strictly an autobiography or a history, although it has elements of both, as it would fail without them. It is intended for both the general reader and criminal justice professionals. My intention is that the book is educational, showing the prison system over a quarter of a century in the context of social, political, and organisational change, in particular the impact of the decline of deference, the growth of public managerialism, and of the rise of political correctness. The trenchant opinions expressed are based on intellectual rumination, observation of human behaviour, and personal and professional experience. I have deliberately chosen a thematic approach for the book so that explanation and information work in tandem, giving a unique insight into the modern prison service and the workings of the public sector.