PERHAPS A GIFT VOUCHER FOR MUM?: MOTHER'S DAY
James Hinton is Emeritus Professor of History at University of Warwick, UK. He is the author of several books, including The First Shop Stewards’ Movement (1974), Nine Wartime Lives: Mass-Observation and the Making of the Modern Self (2010) and The Mass Observers: A History, 1937–1949 (2013).
Our understanding of religion, spirituality and non-religion is impoverished by a lack of first-hand accounts about something so universal, and ineffable, that it lacks even a shared vocabulary: the ‘supernatural’, or sense of ‘something else’. Fortunately, the eminent historian and Mass Observation expert Prof. James Hinton has filled that gap by creating an engaging, informed book based on late 20th century accounts of such phenomena from MO volunteers. His reflections and interpretations are well-grounded in social history and the social scientific study of religion, making this an indispensable resource for scholars and students trying to understand how modern people make meaning, regardless of their religious affiliations. * Abby Day, Professor of Race, Faith and Culture, Goldsmiths, University of London, UK * In a recent overview of the use of documents in research about religion, my co-author and I remarked on the unrealised potential of the Mass Observation archive. How satisfying therefore to find a book that not only addresses this lacuna but does so superbly well. I recommend unreservedly this generous, sensitive and compelling account. * Dr. Grace Davie, Professor of Sociology, University of Exeter, UK *
