It is a highly ambitious undertaking. While there is a plethora of recent books addressing these issues, most of them take a particular slant on the topic, whether it be the challenges of modern motherhood, the rise of the dual-career couple, or the failure of work to deliver fulfilment. Edgar is unique in bringing a broad range of disparate elements together to present one coherent critique of modern society, coupled with a detailed vision for the future in the form of concrete policy suggestions. Edgar’s vision for ‘the sort of society we want to be’ encompasses financial government support for ‘caring work’ of all kinds; government-funded paid maternity leave; the option for older workers to retire or continue working; and a school system radically reworked from the current ‘factory model’.

The main text is enriched by the research and statistics that Edgar uses to back up his findings, particularly when he draws on the experiences of individual workers and workplaces. The War over Work is critical of both Labor and Liberal policy, and avoids the traditional left–right divide to articulate a new way of structuring our workplace and our society.