Edward Heath: A Biography

Description

The son of a carpenter, Edward Heath broke the patrician mould of Tory leaders. He pioneered free enterprise Conservatism ahead of Thatcher. He committed Britain to Europe. With accomplishments outside politics - in music and international sailing - he is the most multi-talented Prime Minister this century. Yet his period in office, which began with such high hopes in June 1970, collapsed in chaos and humiliation after only three-and-a-half years. In this powerful, bestselling biography, John Campbell shows us a nation undergoing a social and psychological revolution and, at its centre, a man of vision and integrity whose legacy will shape British history for decades to come.

John Campbell was born in 1947 and educated at Edinburgh University. His books include Lloyd George- The Goat in the Wilderness, F.E. Smith, Roy Jenkins, Nye Bevan and the Mirage of British Socialism, If Love Were All...- The Story of Frances Stevenson and David Lloyd George, Pistols at Dawn- Two Hundred Years of Political Rivalry from Pitt and Fox to Blair and Brown and The Iron Lady- Margaret Thatcher- From Grocer's Daughter to Iron Lady. He has also edited a number of books including The Experience of World War II and the series 'Makers of the Twentieth Century'.

It holds the reader from the first page to the last. That - plus the beating of a long-needed historical path through the thickets of the early 1970s - makes it a truly special contribution to contemporary history. -- Peter Hennessy * The Times Educational Supplement * I do not believe a better biography of Ted Heath will ever be written... We feel we know him. -- Matthew Parris * The Times Literary Supplement * An outstanding book - over 800 pages and not a word wasted. -- John Bruton * Irish Independent * Judicious, generous and finely written. -- Ben Pimlott * Independent on Sunday * John Campbell's massive and highly impressive biography takes us a long way towards understanding this ambiguous but powerful figure [who has] shaped our affairs fundamentally over the past 30 years. -- Kenneth O. Morgan * New Statesman & Society *