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Macmillan #1
Harold Macmillan, Volume I: 1894-1956
The first of a projected two volume biography of Harold Macmillan, which focuses on the years from his birth in 1894 to his appointment as Prime Minister in 1957.
537 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 1988
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About the author
Alistair Horne
89 books200 followersSir Alistair Allan Horne was an English journalist, biographer and historian of Europe, especially of 19th and 20th century France. He wrote more than 20 books on travel, history, and biography. He won the following awards: Hawthornden Prize, 1963, for The Price of Glory; Yorkshire Post Book of the Year Prize and Wolfson Literary Award, both 1978, both for A Savage War of Peace: Algeria 1954-1962; French Légion d'Honneur, 1993, for work on French history;and Commander of the British Empire (CBE), 2003.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 28, 2020
Any discussion of British politics in the 20th century inevitably involves Winston Churchill at some point sooner or later (usually sooner). And while Churchill is a fascinating figure, I wanted to read about someone else in the highest echelons of the British government, which led me to Harold Macmillan. One of Churchill's successors, though not his immediate successor, Macmillan became Prime Minister at the beginning of 1957. That is the point at which this biography by Alistair Horne stops.
Horne is fairly even-handed in his treatment of Macmillan, neither fawning nor attacking. Macmillan had some definite strengths, and those are enumerated throughout the book. But he was far from perfect, Horne notes these moments as well. If he seems favorable to Macmillan, it is only in the sense of being impressed with his accomplishments and relentless drive to keep pushing for higher office. Along the way, he chronicles Macmillan's difficult family life, including an odd marriage to a woman who openly carried on an affair for decades, basically in front of Macmillan's face. He also explores Macmillan's relationship with key figures of his times: Churchill, Anthony Eden, Neville Chamberlain, Charles de Gaulle, and Dwight Eisenhower.
Macmillan, while not born into loads of money, definitely grew up in the realm of the upper class. His family had a successful publishing business which might be recognizable to many people even today. While Macmillan did work at the business intermittently between the wars, it was never really his full-time occupation nor his overriding interest. After valiant service in WWI (Macmillan was wounded multiple times, eventually leaving the war due to his injuries, which left lifelong pain for him – his right hand was weak due to being shot through it, and he had a serious wound to his left leg and calf area that caused a permanent shuffling walk), Macmillan sort of drifted into politics in the 1920s as a Conservative, albeit one who sometimes broke with party orthodoxy and endorsed programs or ideas that were anathema to most Tories. He became a devoted follower of Churchill and remained loyal to him for the rest of Churchill's political life, even though Churchill did not seem to have any special affection for him.
WWII saw Macmillan serving Churchill in a variety of important ministerial roles. Macmillan spent most of the war in Algiers, Italy, or Greece, and forged a solid working relationship with Eisenhower. Churchill tasked him with dealing with, in succession, the French, the Italians, and the Greeks, all the while coordinating efforts with the Americans. A delicate balancing act for sure, Macmillan displayed a deft touch at trying to placate egotistical men with often competing goals. Later, when Eisenhower was President, he specifically hope that Macmillan would take over the Prime Ministership following Eden's flameout over the Suez crisis.
Horne makes liberal use of Macmillan's extensive diaries, allowing us to see what he was thinking in the moment. He also contrasts this with things that Macmillan told him much later, in old age, as Horne was doing research for this book. Where what Macmillan said then versus later did not mach up, Horne tells us so. He also indicates when Macmillan was consistent (which was fairly frequent). I appreciate Horne exploring Macmillan's messed-up marriage, his distance from his father, his equal distance to his own children, and his almost creepy reliance on his mother. Horne does bog down in late WWII when he engages in an overly-detailed review of Macmillan's involvement in repatriation of Russian “citizens” who were in Italy and Yugoslavia. While I understand the significance of it to Macmillan's life, it went on for way too long, with too many people and meetings to keep track of. But this is a good biography, and in general is an easy read full of lots of action from beginning to end. There may be books that are more recent and perhaps therefore gain due to the longer passage of time, but Horne's book benefits from the author's personal interviews with his subject.
Grade: B-
Horne is fairly even-handed in his treatment of Macmillan, neither fawning nor attacking. Macmillan had some definite strengths, and those are enumerated throughout the book. But he was far from perfect, Horne notes these moments as well. If he seems favorable to Macmillan, it is only in the sense of being impressed with his accomplishments and relentless drive to keep pushing for higher office. Along the way, he chronicles Macmillan's difficult family life, including an odd marriage to a woman who openly carried on an affair for decades, basically in front of Macmillan's face. He also explores Macmillan's relationship with key figures of his times: Churchill, Anthony Eden, Neville Chamberlain, Charles de Gaulle, and Dwight Eisenhower.
Macmillan, while not born into loads of money, definitely grew up in the realm of the upper class. His family had a successful publishing business which might be recognizable to many people even today. While Macmillan did work at the business intermittently between the wars, it was never really his full-time occupation nor his overriding interest. After valiant service in WWI (Macmillan was wounded multiple times, eventually leaving the war due to his injuries, which left lifelong pain for him – his right hand was weak due to being shot through it, and he had a serious wound to his left leg and calf area that caused a permanent shuffling walk), Macmillan sort of drifted into politics in the 1920s as a Conservative, albeit one who sometimes broke with party orthodoxy and endorsed programs or ideas that were anathema to most Tories. He became a devoted follower of Churchill and remained loyal to him for the rest of Churchill's political life, even though Churchill did not seem to have any special affection for him.
WWII saw Macmillan serving Churchill in a variety of important ministerial roles. Macmillan spent most of the war in Algiers, Italy, or Greece, and forged a solid working relationship with Eisenhower. Churchill tasked him with dealing with, in succession, the French, the Italians, and the Greeks, all the while coordinating efforts with the Americans. A delicate balancing act for sure, Macmillan displayed a deft touch at trying to placate egotistical men with often competing goals. Later, when Eisenhower was President, he specifically hope that Macmillan would take over the Prime Ministership following Eden's flameout over the Suez crisis.
Horne makes liberal use of Macmillan's extensive diaries, allowing us to see what he was thinking in the moment. He also contrasts this with things that Macmillan told him much later, in old age, as Horne was doing research for this book. Where what Macmillan said then versus later did not mach up, Horne tells us so. He also indicates when Macmillan was consistent (which was fairly frequent). I appreciate Horne exploring Macmillan's messed-up marriage, his distance from his father, his equal distance to his own children, and his almost creepy reliance on his mother. Horne does bog down in late WWII when he engages in an overly-detailed review of Macmillan's involvement in repatriation of Russian “citizens” who were in Italy and Yugoslavia. While I understand the significance of it to Macmillan's life, it went on for way too long, with too many people and meetings to keep track of. But this is a good biography, and in general is an easy read full of lots of action from beginning to end. There may be books that are more recent and perhaps therefore gain due to the longer passage of time, but Horne's book benefits from the author's personal interviews with his subject.
Grade: B-
August 14, 2018
Very readable. Important times well explained.
December 26, 2018
Who am I to review a biography like this. Written 30 years ago, it is of it’s time. Volume 2 next.
Want to read
June 5, 2016Ordered from Alibris 5/30/2016. Coming from Better World Books, Indiana.
This shipment arrived 6/4/2016 but they sent me a murder mystery instead! Something called "For a Few Demons More" by Kim Harrison. Their Customer Service replied promptly, even on a Sunday morning. Hopefully Harold MacMillan is still available.
This shipment arrived 6/4/2016 but they sent me a murder mystery instead! Something called "For a Few Demons More" by Kim Harrison. Their Customer Service replied promptly, even on a Sunday morning. Hopefully Harold MacMillan is still available.
August 25, 2010
Who new political biography could be so much fun!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews