About BC Books Online
BC Books Online was created for anyone interested in BC-published books, and with librarians especially in mind. We'd like to make it easy for library staff to learn about books from BC publishers - both new releases and backlist titles - so you can inform your patrons and keep your collections up to date.
Our site features print books and ebooks - both new releases and backlist titles - all of which are available to order through regular trade channels. Browse our subject categories to find books of interest or create and export lists by category to cross-reference with your library's current collection.
A quick tip: When reviewing the "Browse by Category" listings, please note that these are based on standardized BISAC Subject Codes supplied by the books' publishers. You will find additional selections, grouped by theme or region, in our "BC Reading Lists."
Description
In the late 1930s and early 1940s, a wave of state-sponsored “national fitness” programs swept Britain and its former settler colonies. In Strong, Beautiful and Modern, Charlotte Macdonald shows how governments encouraged citizens to be healthier and more active, thereby reinforcing the cultural ties of the Empire. At a time when government concern over public health issues such as obesity are once again on the rise, Macdonald explains why the first national fitness drive ultimately failed. This book is a lively investigation into how people and governments think about their health and well-being, and how those historical views have shaped our modern life.
Contributor Notes
Charlotte Macdonald is a professor of history at Victoria University of Wellington. She has strong interests in women’s history, both in New Zealand and the wider British Empire, and in the history of sport. Publishing widely on these subjects, Charlotte Macdonald is also the co-editor (with Frances Porter) of My Hand Will Write What My Heart Dictates (1996) and (with Merimeri Penfold and Bridget Williams) The Book of New Zealand Women / Ko Kui Ma Te Kaupapa (1991).
Awards
- Winner, The Ian Wards Prize, Archives and Records Association of New Zealand (ARANZ)
- Short-listed, Ernest Scott Prize
