From the high politics of Court and Cabinet room to the everyday discussions in kitchen or queue, Peter Hennessy's Never Again: Britain 1945-51 recreates the mood and feel of life in early post-war Britain. At the end of the Second World War Britain was in flux. It was an age of rationing and rebuilding; when hope for a better future contrasted with the horror of war. Fresh ideals emerged during the common experience of the conflict and the new, widespread belief that everyone should be treated equally led to the creation of the 'welfare state' and the NHS, despite tough economic circumstances. Internationally, Britain was finding a place in a world increasingly overshadowed by Cold War with the Soviet Union.