Queuing for Beginners

Radio 4 Book of the Week from 28th May. We spend our days catching buses and trains, tapping away at computers, shopping, queuing, lying on sofas... But we know almost nothing about these activities. Exploring the history of these subjects as they come up during a typical day, starting with breakfast and ending with bedtime, Joe Moran shows that they conceal all kinds of hidden histories and meanings. By looking closely at the normally unobserved, he tells a story about social and cultural change in Britain and the Western world, in particular since the Second World War. And along the way connections become apparent between what seem unrelated phenomena - pubs and the weather forecast, or sandwiches and commuting, or smoking and gossip.Drawing on his academic research on everyday life, but writing with wit and lucidity for a popular audience, Joe Moran shows that we know less about ourselves than we think...