Ebook: The age of noise in Britain: hearing modernity

Early twentieth-century Britons thought that they were living in the 'age of noise, ' sensing the historical changes going on around them as a series of disturbing shifts in the sonic atmosphere. From motorcar engines and wireless loudspeakers to the terrifying interruptions of mechanized warfare, the feeling of living in topsy-turvy times arrived via the ear. Yet historians have not listened to the sounds of early twentieth-century Britain nor unravelled what it meant to live in an 'age of noise'. This work turns a critical ear to the 'ways of hearing' operating in Britain between 1914 and 1945 and argues that attempts to shape encounters with everyday sound were expressive of hopes and fears for modernity.;Modernity as crisis: noise and nerves -- Re-enchanting modernity: techniques of magical sound -- Creating the sonically rational: modern interventions in everyday aurality -- National acoustics: total listening in the Second World War.