Aneurin Bevan. Vol 1: 1897-1945

Aneurin Bevan #1

by Michael Foot

Michael Foot's biography of Nye Bevan is one of the great political biographies of the last century. Originally published in two volumes (1962 and 1973), Faber Finds is reissuing it in the same way. The first volume covers Bevan's life from his birth in 1897 to his entry into Atlee's Cabinet in 1945: the second covers his years from 1945 to his death in 1960. Nye Bevan, forever associated with the formation of the National Health Service, is arguably Britain's greatest socialist. This biography, written with passion and unashamed admiration, is a magnificent celebration of a great life.

Genres: History

536 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1962

About the author

Michael Mackintosh Foot was an English Labour politician and writer, who was a Member of Parliament from 1945 to 1992, and was the Leader of the Opposition from 1980 to 1983.

Reviews

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Frustrating read. A great man writing about a great man and the first 300 pages reflect this, with lovely prose one would expect from Michael Foot. However, it feels unjustified to commit 40% of the book (200pp) to Bevans role as a seemingly prescient backbench critic of the wartime coalition, which Foot also gives unnecessarily copious context of.

[J Grimsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book written by a hero worshiper about a hero. It makes a old lefty very happy

[Leo H · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating study of (in my opinion) the greatest British politician of all time, from his childhood and early life as the son of a Welsh miner up until the end of the Second World War, Labour's landslide victory in the 1945 election and his shock appointment as Minister of Health. Michael Foot (a Labour MP at the time of writing, not yet leader of the party, and a follower and friend of Bevan's early in his career) writes beautifully and clearly put in weeks of painstaking research to ensure he is as accurate as possible in his descriptions of Bevan's own ideas and feelings, the political climate around him, and the opinions other MPs and pubic figures had of Bevan himself, who was often (especially during the war) a much maligned and hated figure in the British establishment and press.
Foot himself is far from neutral on the subject of Bevan, using his thorough research to back up Bevan's often highly controversial statements in Parliament and elsewhere, proving that Bevan's criticisms of Churchill and his government were not only valid, but prophetic in their insight and held by many other luminaries of the time, most notably Roosevelt, Stalin, and Alan Brooke, chief of the imperial general staff during WWII and Churchill's foremost military advisor.
Foot offers an alternative view of WWII here that because of the veneration of Churchill and the skewed, jingoistic view of the period we are given by the media in the UK, is both enlightening and compelling. The book drags a little bit until this section begins, but once it does I found myself unable to put it down. Highly recommended to anyone interested in the period, Churchill, the Labour Party in the mid 20th century, or British politics in general. Brilliant.

[Eric Kalnins · Rating 5 out of 5]

High quality prose from a brilliant writer who unashamedly hero worships his subject. However subjective you get a wonderful picture of a remarkable man of the people