Dare To Be A Daniel: Then and Now

Description

This warm, affectionate, scintillatingly funny account reveals the childhood of a radical politician who has become a well-loved national figure, and shows how early influences have shaped the commitments and beliefs he holds today. Born into a family with a strong, radical dissenting tradition in which enterprise and public service were combined, Tony Benn was taught to believe that the greatest sins in life was to waste time and money. Life in his Victorian - Edwardian family home in Westminster was characterised by austerity, the last vestiges of domestic service, the profound influence of his mother, a dedicated Christian and feminist, and his colourful and courageous father, elected as a Liberal MP in 1906 and later serving in Labour Cabinets under Ramsay MacDonald and Clem Atlee. Dare to be a Daniel feelingly recalls Tony Benn's years as one of three brothers experiencing life in the nursery, the agonies of adolescence and of school, where boys were taught to 'keep their minds clean', and the shadow of fascism and war with its disruption and family loss; and describes his emergence from the war as a keen socialist about to embark upon marriage and an unknown political future. The book ends with some of Tony Benn's reflections on many of the most important and controversial issues of our time.

Radical statesman and Member of Parliament for over fifty years, Tony Benn is the pre-eminent diarist of his generation. His political activity continued after 'retirement' through mass meetings, broadcasts and in more recent years through social media. A widower since 2000, Tony Benn died at his home in London on 14th March 2014.

There is a passion in Benn's writing and speaking that far transcends the miserable aspirations of most contemporary politicians -- Paul Foot * Guardian * [Benn] has a nice line in self-deprecation and hundreds of thought-provoking or funny stories. He is proud of his forebears and their achievements, bringing them alive even for people who do not share his name or even political views * Daily Express * Often revealing, always entertaining... reads like a one-sided conversation, not because he hogs the stage but because people around him realize he has the most interesting things to say, so they listen -- Jad Adams * Times Literary Supplement * These three wonderful hours are crammed with so many formative memories, often recalled with a laugh in Benn's familiar voice -- Rachel Redford * The Observer * The essays on peace are excellent -- Simon Jenkins * Sunday Times *