Fresh insights on the cultural and ecclesiastical debate are offered in a new and extremely fluent book by Nigel Yates. It is based upon a wide range of primary and secondary sources, including several archives. Especially skillful use is made of a broad base of evidence from the theatre, cinema and television, while some discussions are enlivened by the author’s own reminiscences. The central thesis of the book is that, while there were undoubtedly major changes in both the religious and moral climates between 1950 and 1970, ‘the popular image of the 1950s being the last decade of respectability before the rot set in during the 1960s’ is incorrect. Rather, the process of transition was more continuous, slower and less dramatic than is often imagined. The so-called religious revival of the early 1950s was ‘very fragile’, while ‘the “swinging sixties” … really only touched a small proportion of the population of Britain, and most of them lived in London.’ Five of the six substantive chapters focus on the dynamics of moral transformation, with Christianity in something of a bystander role. These sections are undoubtedly the volume’s strength. ‘The churches and religious attitudes’ are the subject of the first chapter, which includes a relatively brief and slightly disappointing discussion of patterns of religious affiliation and attendance. The engagement with puritanical religious moralism is wonderfully compelling and my favourite thread in this scholarly writing. A leading, respected and sadly deceased church historian leaves us this thorough, engaging and original work.