How to Survive in Ration Book Britain is an all-ages readable look at life (and how it felt day-to-day) in wartime (1939-1945) England written by Toni Mount. Released 30th Nov 2025 and due out (US release) 10th Jan 2025 from Pen & Sword, it's 224 pages and is available in hardback and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents and links throughout.
The author takes an actively engaging point of view with this daily-life vignette - the reader is a time-traveler heading to England during the straitened circumstances under wartime bombing to study and experience life. What should they expect? What will they experience? What's food like? How does the culture differ from the modern day?
Chapters are arranged thematically by subject: aspects of daily life (housework, laundry, costs, housing), food (rations, calories, shopping, growing your own food, cooking, eating away from home), health & medicine and safety, jobs and working, clothing, social aspects, supporting the war effort, assorted other issues (pets, blackout, misdirection and sabotage aimed at the enemy, recycling, and life after war (austerity). The book is meticulously annotated and the chapter notes will provide a wealth of sources for further reading. There's also an abbreviated bibliography and cross-referenced index.
The book is modestly illustrated throughout with period illuminated pages showing scenes from domestic life, implements such as eating utensils and tools, and drawings of famous (and unknown) people going about their daily lives.
The fact that the book is layman accessible and engagingly easy to read will make it a very good choice for school or library acquisition. I would recommend it for re-enactors as well, as there are a number of good illustrations for copyable tools, fashions, etc.
Five stars.
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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