STRONG, BEAUTIFUL AND MODERN

National Fitness in Britain, New Zealand, Australia and Canada, 1935-1960

Charlotte Macdonald

30 b&w illustrations $49.99. Bridget Williams Books

A fascinating look at the origins of the worldwide obsession with ‘the body’.

In the late 1930s and early 1940s, a wave of state-sponsored 'national fitness' programmes swept Britain and its former colonies. Following revelations of the Nazi enthusiasm for government-backed sports and the organisation of mass leisure, the programmes quickly foundered. They probably laid, however, the foundations for the twentieth century’s obsession with fitness – a key facet of modern life.

In this highly original account, Charlotte Macdonald shows how governments became convinced that they must encourage citizens to be healthier and more active, and how these efforts reinforced the cultural ties of the Empire. Alongside these state-sponsored efforts was a growing emphasis from business, the medical establishment and popular culture on the importance of having a better body.

Strong, Beautiful and Modern explains the origins of that most modern preoccupation, the body obsession. And, at a time when government concern over public health issues such as obesity is once again on the rise, it offers valuable lessons as to why the first national fitness drive was ultimately a failure.

Drawing on extensive research, and written in vivid, lively prose, Strong, Beautiful and Modern is an historical investigation into the way that people and their governments think about their health and well-being, and how those historical views have shaped our modern life.

Charlotte Macdonald is 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. Her previous books include My Hand Will Write What My Heart Dictates (1996), and she co-edited The Book of New Zealand Women (1991).