An Unofficial 'The Rest Is History' Reading List

419. Britain in 1974: Countdown to a Coup (Part 3)

February 15, 2024

Description

Following a tumultuous election in February 1974, Labour’s Harold Wilson has been re-elected Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Wilson, an unpretentious, kind man, has inherited a nation in...
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Books Referenced

Spycatcher

Author: Peter Wright

Context:

Explicitly mentioned as a book written by the 'rogue MI5 agent' Peter Wright in the 1980s, in which he claimed that he and MI5 officers had been conspiring against Wilson

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Author: John le Carré

Context:

Described as 'the Le Carré novel' and 'the ultimate 1974 novel' published in summer 1974, featuring themes of moles and espionage that reflected the paranoid atmosphere of the time

The Rats

Author: James Herbert

Context:

Listed among cultural works from 1974 that reflected a sense of national decline and decay

Dead Babies

Author: Martin Amis

Context:

Mentioned as a work Martin Amis was writing in 1974, listed alongside other works reflecting themes of decline

High Rise

Author: J.G. Ballard

Context:

Mentioned as a work Ballard was writing in 1974, listed alongside other works reflecting themes of societal breakdown

Low Intensity Operations, Subversion, Insurgency, and Peacekeeping

Author: Frank Kitson

Context:

Described as a 'blueprint' written by Brigadier Frank Kitson in 1971 about military operations against political extremists in Britain