Chances: An Autobiography

by Mervyn Jones

Book by Jones, Mervyn

Unknown Binding

First published August 1, 1987

About the author

Mervyn Jones was a British biographer and novelist, the son of psychoanalyst Ernest Jones.

Reviews

[Frank Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mervyn Jones was a friend of my parents and I knew him through most of my childhood and lately I read one of his novels and it stimulated me to want to read this. I devoured it in two days. Firstly, of course, as a seasoned journalist and novelist he is a very proficient and concise writer. But he also gives a fascinating account of what it was like to be a political person living through many of the defining events of the 20th century. He touches upon the Second World War, Suez, the Cultural Revolution in China, the student riots in Paris and a lot of other stuff, not in a pedantic or analytical way but as he was personally affected by them, often through his own involvement. He knew many of the outstanding figures of left politics, Nye Bevan, Michael Foot, Peggy Duff, as well as the various editors of Tribune and New Statesman. The narrative is highly personal, humorous, often insightful, and always displays an unfailingly positive and optimistic view of life, he can often find positive things to say about his worst political opponents. Well, if only politics was like that now!

The book is unfortunately out of print and very hard to get. A shame that works like this don't get reissued in e-book format so as to remain available to a wider range of readers.