In recent years we have seen the predictions of our forebears that leisure time would increase as the years pass utterly confounded. It is a fact of life that in major cities across the world, transport systems are full to bursting with people on their way to and from work. As people have come to accept longer working hours as a way of life, a number of new issues have come into play.

These include labour market regulation, contract work and outsourcing, wages and increased attempts at better organisation. The impressive array of expert contributors, including Mark Harvey, Jane Humphries and Frank Wilkinson, have compiled a comprehensive and interesting book.