The Prime Ministers: Reflections on Leadership from Wilson to May

by Steve Richards

A landmark history of the men and women who have defined the UK's role in the modern world - and what makes them special - by a seasoned political journalist.

At a time of unprecedented political upheaval, this magisterial history explains who leads us and why. From Harold Wilson to Theresa May, it brilliantly brings to life all nine inhabitants of 10 Downing Street over the past fifty years, vividly outlining their successes and failures - and what made each of them special.

Based on unprecedented access and in-depth interviews, and inspired by the author's BBC Radio 4 and television series, Steve Richards expertly examines the men and women who have defined the UK's role in the modern world and sheds new light on the demands of the highest public office in the land.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, History, Biography, Leadership, Audiobook

464 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 5, 2019

Reviews

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book that looks at the nine British Prime Ministers that held office between the appointment of Harold Wilson in 1964 and the resignation of Theresa May in 2019.

I wouldn’t say this book was a detailed analysis of the time in office of each PM. Nor do I think the author intended it to be so. Each PM gets only around 40 pages of text, although the author packs more into those pages than you might think.

The author has a generally leftist outlook, and his opinions do come through to an extent, but he comments that his particular interest is in leadership, and the qualities of a successful leader. Instead of a politically partisan approach, he therefore concentrates on what he sees as the varying leadership qualities of each Prime Minister.

I would say that, for 7 of the 9 PMs, the author provides a fairly balanced assessment of their good and bad points as leaders. For me the most interesting chapters were those about Thatcher, Blair and Brown. I largely agreed with his assessments of Thatcher and Blair, and his assessment of Gordon Brown gave me pause for thought. Some of the other chapters also provided some insights. In my opinion, the two weakest were those about David Cameron and Theresa May. It seemed to me the author was less fair to them than to their predecessors. It’s not that I think either were successful PMs, indeed when Theresa May was in power I used to remark to family and friends that she reminded me of the hapless Jim Callaghan in the way she always seemed bewildered by events, but the author provides a much more favourable assessment of Callaghan. Actually he argues that in general our present-day politicians are pygmies in comparison with those of the 1970s. I found this argument unconvincing. In the UK the 1970s were years of economic chaos, and the politicians of the era lost control of the situation.

Some of the author’s closing comments, written in 2019, illustrate how it’s much easier to assess things with the benefit of hindsight. He suggests that the 2017 election showed how “early elections are dangerous, either contemplating them or holding them”. Elsewhere in the book he tentatively suggests that the era of big parliamentary majorities may be over and that we may be seeing the end of the two-party system in the UK. Only a few months after the book was published Boris Johnston called an early election and won a whopping majority.

I did agree with a number of the author’s conclusions, in particular that all the PMs, whatever their faults, were motivated by a desire to do good. He rejects the oft-made allegation that politicians are wilfully malevolent and uninterested in voter concerns. I also agree with his comment that the job itself is all but impossible.

About 75% into the book I was thinking of rating it at 4 stars, but the last 100 pages were a bit of a disappointment. Perhaps it’s just easier to analyse historical events, compared to those we actually live through.

[Jacob Stelling · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting summary of the 'modern' prime ministers, which begins by providing a definition of what a 'modern' prime minister is and the qualities required in such a role, something which helps the author to judge each leader in turn, whilst also providing the criteria for the reader to make their own judgements.

I enjoyed reading this book, not the longest out there but useful as a summary. Also helps to challenge some long-existing stereotypes and begins to rehabilitate some figures, such as Heath and Brown. On some occasions the author's personal views seem to overshadow his analysis, but on the whole an insightful and enjoyable read!

[Rob Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Prime Ministers is a thoughtful book that expands on the lectures the author did for BBC Parliament.

He selects the nine prime ministers nominally because they are prominent politicians of the “television era”. This is a modest way of obscuring the real reason for picking them, which is they are prime ministers whom Richards has observed closely.

Richards nicely summarises the each of the politicians. He makes observations which aren't immediately evident. For example, he points out that Margaret Thatcher’s decision to go to war to retake the Falklands was “the only alternative to a armed response would have been her resignation”.

All in all the book contains many intriguing details, judgments and reflections. It is definitely well worth reading.

[Louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

We fell off after Brown didn’t we?

A well written book ; 100 pages on each of the nine leaders isn’t enough to even scratch the surface of their leadership, and the bias was evident at times. I found the Boris chapter particular weak. But I enjoyed everything up until Cameron’s chapter.

[Kenny Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent introduction to the last 50 years of British politics. I loved the author’s insistent generosity of spirit to each of the last 10 PMs.

[Rufus Liverman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Summary
Leaders focus too much on the past and are usually insecure
Wilson - desperate for power, very good at politics destroyed heath
Heath- destroyed by Wilson not good at politics
Callaghan - good at politics/management, not many ideas. Got unlucky with stuff
Thatcher - changed politics basically invisible because of a war, good with leadership
Major - Should never of been PM but somehow managed for 7 years
Blair - Changed politics, massively insecure, basically invented modern media politics but became so unpopular that he couldn’t stay in Britain
Brown - Unlucky but overly angry and had passed his sell by date (yes this is genuinely a thing he believed) by at least 5 years by the time he became PM
Cameron - Blair 2.0 but with less ideological conviction and more right wing than people though
May- Never should have been PM, too awkward and bad with “political rhythms”
Johnson- Massively reliant on Cummings, almost dying sort of saved his popularity.kept missing important meeting, tried to run the British state (budget of 1 trillion ) how he ran London (budget 25bn)

Overall not a bad book but Johnson chapter was massive and may chapter was boring.Would have like to see more policy detail.

[Lewis Virgo · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Prime Ministers reflections on leadership is a great book for nay British politics enthusiast.

It has a great coverage of all the individuals who acquired the thorny crown. The best chapters were on Wilson, Heath and Callaghan. Some of the other good ones were on Major, Blair and Brown.

Whilst the chapters on Cameron and May are not bad, they just were not as good as the others. And far too critical in my opinion but still good. The book also has at some points a left wing/anti brexit tone but it is not major. But there was a couple points were this was obvious but for the most part it was non-partisan. The chapter on Thatcher was also a bit on the light side but as someone who has had many books written about her, the only PM to beat her is Churchill in the number of books, 1 chapter in book could never be enough.

Overall this was an excellent book and i learned a lot about people who I know little about and those who i thought i knew a lot. After reading this book you will understand the individuals who have been PM and the office itself.

[Dan Cohen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I looked up this author after watching a brilliant set of programmes ("Reflections - When Parties Split") he made for the BBC a few years ago. The book is to some extent based on a similar series he did on PM's and it displays a similar mastery of understanding of British politics since the 60's.

The author first gives a general view on the characteristics that are needed in a prime minister for them to be successful. He then has a chapter on each of the PM's from Wilson to May, describing how they reached that position, the political background and environment, and how they fared. In doing so he examines each PM on how they stacked up against the previously identified characteristics.

The author attempted to write without any political bias and, from my perspective, was largely successful in this - as you'd expect from a died-in-the-wool BBC journalist. This enhances the focus on the PM's as individuals as the author generally stays clear of expressing opinions on their policies from a left vs. right perspective (although he freely criticises policies from other perspectives, such as whether they were pragmatic, well thought out, or well sold). The largely neutral approach also lends credence to the paintings of political environments - both the Conservative Party and Labour Party come across as irreparably torn and fractious.

The author of course acknowledges that the circumstances surrounding each of the PM's and the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune play a major role in their success or otherwise. I felt that this aspect was underplayed a bit as a factor in the success or otherwise of the PMs, but maybe that just shows me to be more fatalistic and less of a believer in the power of individuals than the author.

It's all excellent stuff, if a bit repetitive from time to time. Well worth a read as long as you're not looking for something to support your own political biases and consequent biases for or against individual PMs.

[Richard Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

The main thing that this book taught me is that having the skills of a good teacher may be the most important qualification to be a good prime minister, although it's a job where you are more likely to fail than succeed. I took many quotes from the book.

Here is a link to my blog with the quotes:

https://richardswsmith.wordpress.com/...

[David Highton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book covers the premierships of all 9 holders of the office in the media age from Harold Wilson in 1964 to Theresa May in 2016 to 2019. he seeks to define the qualities of political leadership and to compare and contrast these 9 leading politicians. Overall, a insightful analysis and a good precis of recent political history

[Phil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Conceptually a fascinating study of leadership style and content, but each of the chapters on the last 9 Prime Ministers is padded out and the narrative suffers from a lack of structure with too many comparisons in the individual chapters which should have been reserved for a heavyweight analysis in the final chapter. So although it is a deeply interesting read it's conclusions lack conviction.

[David Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

8.4/10

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well researched.

[PS Ng · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eloquently written. Not an easy read for a British politics outsider and non-native English reader. Fair and justified comments towards each of the modern PMs covered, esp. how they ended. Good insights into the nature and requirements of the unique post of PM.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listened to this on audible. Really enjoyed although reliving the theresa may era was a bit traumatic as I was in the bath

[Steve Angelkov · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative and well researched book, no doubt will need a revised edition to cover the current PM and his peers.

[Oliver Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting reflection on the tenures of modern Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom

I thought the most interesting theory advanced by this book was the writer's suggestion that we've passed the high watermark of Thatcherite policies under David Cameron and the coalition government in the early 2010s. Steve Richards argues that the evidence on domestic policy from the Conservatives' 2017 manifesto shows that Theresa May was looking to be a much more left-wing premier and Boris Johnson has done little to reverse from this position.

This raises a fascinating question about how Jeremy Corbyn may have been slightly more effective in-terms of making sure socialist values and policies remained on the political agenda with the change of Conservative leader after 2016.

The book suggests that being Mayor of London, with its focus on executive power and delivering efficient and effective public services, means that Boris Johnson has a stronger interest in how the public services can be made to work better for the end user. This is in direct contrast to other Prime Ministers and an interesting reflection on how devolution is starting to change our unitary state. Richards highlights Margaret Thatcher's decision to abolish the Greater London Council with the consequence that London Transport went into limbo with a variety of agencies looking after the service and a lack of local accountability resulting in a declining service to the public at the end of 1980s. He also highlights that Tony Blair did not improve public services as quickly as perhaps he might have after 1997 as he stuck to Conservative spending plans. Richards quotes Ed Balls as saying that after the National Insurance rise in 2002 to pay for the National Health Service improvements, Labour failed to make a case for tax rises to spend on specific public service improvements. He attributes this partly to Blair and Gordon Brown's desire to not be seen as 'old' Labour, but an opportunity to demonstrate how this approach to tax and spend could have been positive for public service improvement was missed.

Additionally, Johnson has presided over a huge expansion of the state to tackle COVID-19 unlike any Labour government in recent years. In that respect the current period does reflect how the state expanded to meet total war during 1940 to 1945 and then was slow to fall back.

The theme of leadership seems to be about communication and how leaders explain their policies is key to this according to the writer. Tony Benn said being a politician was all about being a teacher to the electorate and the writer believes Margaret Thatcher did this extremely well.

I think one of the most interesting parts of this book are the short stories about triumphs that future Prime Minsters achieve and how these very often demonstrate the fatal flaw that brings them down. Thatcher was talking about reforming the rates system in 1974 and gained plenty of publicity off the back of this, although she was less clear about how this might be achieved.

This book is brimming with insight and well worth picking up to learn more about modern politics in the UK.

[Koit · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a journalist’s look into the latest Prime Ministers. Going back about fifty years, we start with Harold Wilson and make our way through Heath, Callaghan, Thatcher, Major, Blair, Brown, Cameron, to end up with May. This company is united by the fact that they made it to the top of their respective parties, and were then able to hold on to become Prime Minister.

Why I emphasised that the author is a journalist is that this bears very much on how the subjects are treated. From the start, the author has a connection with Wilson who he saw giving a speech. For the later PMs, this connection rather relates to the professional environment and how they were perceived in the media. These factors also influence the choices for who were included: Macmillan was left out because he did not have to contend with ‘the modern news cycle’ (though the same is also said of Wilson). Conversely, the different PMs’ attitudes towards media are also described along with how they communicated with the press.

To a degree, the emphasis on media is well tuned for Britain. Media exerts a lot of influence in how they cover a person or their policies, and the author tries to investigate this. Therefore, the way these Prime Ministers themselves treated media is relevant. However, in some cases the substance of the policy that is more relevant longer term gets lost under the minutiae of media coverage. This is especially true for the more recent PMs, whose long term impact is much more difficult to assess. It almost feels as if the author should have had a final cut-off, say the advent of social media in politics, to prevent this becoming so much of an issue.

However, what was more to my chagrin was the author’s style of enunciating the ‘good’ and the ‘bad’ in what had been done. If a PM had been successful, we had ‘a leadership lesson’. If a PM had been unsuccessful, this was time for another ‘leadership lesson’. These ‘leadership lessons’ quickly became dull—with a few memorable exception such as Brown’s ‘don’t insult the public even if they insult you’—but for the majority, the good intentions of the author come through in a shallow way.

Other than this, Mr Richards also proposes some interesting theories. One of the oddest was that Thatcher’s 1982 election shouldn’t be counted as a khaki election because she had started preparing the Government for an election prior to the Falklands War. This sounds like a roundabout argument to me as later on the author himself goes on to explain how a PM must always be ready to go to the polls. Other similar things may have cropped up, but for the majority of the people this book covered, this was my first in-depth look at them, and even then the depths are no very great.

As such, I think the book serves as a very good introduction into modern Prime Ministers though for a deeper understanding of their times much more comprehensive monographs should be studied.

This review was originally posted on my blog.

[Rich B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not my usual genre, but enjoyed this book a lot.

Looks at every British Prime Minister from Harold Wilson right up to Boris Johnson. It’s partly a recap of major events in British politics dating back to the 1960s. But, mostly it’s an insightful observation and reflection on how each prime minister as an individual handled the burden of leadership.

It’s well-researched and detailed. Clearly written and never feels boring or padded out. You do feel like you’re getting an insider’s view of British politics

There’s a good balanced view looking at both the triumphs and failures of each Prime Minister. It covers their very different journeys through their time in charge of the country.

It also gives good insights into the circumstances and context from their early days, up to stepping into the job and what drove their decisions. We get that the prime ministers have to not just lead the country - popular opinions and the press, but also parliament and their own party.

The writing brings to life the characters of not just the prime ministers, but the key political figures surrounding them. Found some of the stories around those who didn’t make it to Prime Minister - Tony Benn, Dennis Healey and Michael Heseltine for example - really interesting. Politicians used to have much more integrity and character.

I liked that it’s calm and professionally written, while still being candid about the personalities involved. It manages to avoid being judgemental, though it’s hard not to have your own views on each leader, depending on where your own politics lie.

You do feel some sympathy for the more unlucky leaders (Brown and May), a bit more understanding of some of the context that surrounded the more forgotten leaders (Callaghan and Major) and some anger at where it all went wrong. (pretty much all of Thatcher’s time, the tail end of Blair’s time, and of course Cameron and Brexit).

Even the latest update on how Johnson came to power, and his handling of Brexit and then Covid, is exceptionally clear and well-written.

Enjoyed this a lot, recommend to anyone interested in politics or leadership.

[Eyejaybee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this absolutely fascinating. Steve Richards has looked at the last ten British Prime Ministers, starting from Harold Wilson who first came into office in 1964 (as it happens, the year after I was born). Interestingly, he was the only one of the ten who served non-consecutive terms as Prime Minister.

It is certainly intriguing to consider the vast changes in the nature of political coverage in the media throughout that period. Harold Wilson was one of the first Prime ministers to recognise the importance of television as a means of connecting with the electorate. For his predecessors, there had been relatively little media coverage of, or interest in, politics beyond the printed press. That started to change as we moved into the 1960s, fuelled by the onset of greater public affluence, the spread of television (not least because of the unprecedented impact of television satire programmes such as That Was The Week That Was), and the additional fuel arising from scandals such as the Profumo Affair.

Steve Richards is a political journalist and observer of long vintage, though not long enough actually to have been reporting on the terms in office of Wilson or his successor, Edward Heath. He does, however, share a personal recollection of a public meeting he attended at which Wilson showed great adroitness in managing the audience.

Richards is known as a man of the left, but his accounts seem well balanced. I certainly enjoyed his reminiscences of crises and episodes that I recall from my own youth, although several of them had been long buried in my memory until he nudged them back to life. His chapter on the ill-fated premiership of Theresa May is particularly poignant, in its portrayal of the insurmountable ranks of opposition lined against her, on all sides of the party delineations.

Overall, this was an informative and entertaining account. The contrast that Richards draws between the respective skills and talents of the different Prime Ministers, and their suitability (or not) to the office that they took on, is enlightening.

[Colin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a thoughtful, stimulating and well argued commentary on British Prime Ministers from Harold Wilson to Theresa May. Based on unscripted television talks on most of these PMs, Steve Richards puts each in the context of what he considers to be the essential qualities of a successful prime minister, such as being a political teacher and managing their party. This is a good template and enables the different careers and experiences to be assessed fairly.

The book was evidently written before any of Boris Johnson's current tenure could be assessed. Therefore some of the concluding comments are out of date. To me, Johnson is already a PM like no other in recent years, both in the challenges that he has faced and in the approach that he has taken to government and to party management. I would be interested to see how Richards would evaluate the current PM against the criteria that he has set for his predecessors.

As to the text as it stands, the narrative can be rambling and repetitive (perhaps a consequence of its basis as unscripted talks) and I found the continual references to "Shakespearean" qualities and the "rhythms" of politics tedious because of their lack of precise meaning.

Nevertheless, these are enjoyable essays with, at times, penetrating assessments and so this book is recommended.

[David Cutler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It flows well and each PM is given around 40 pages, even if like our current PM the amount of time they have spent I office is shorter. Each one doesn’t outstay their welcome. And what an extraordinary bunch they are. Poor Queen.

I most liked the many parallels that he draws between very different PMs facing similar situations whether it is a referendum, a divided party or a honeymoon period at the start of an incumbency. Steve Richards is on the Left as a journalist, and indeed defends the Left / Rights analysis of parties but I think his deep disappointment in the last three Prime Ministers is about more than political affiliation. Certainly in his view it is about a steep decline in the quality at the top of the political class.

I am a bit less convinced by Richards claim that the secret to political success in the long view as a PM is the degree to which someone is a ‘political teacher’. Certainly both Thatcher and Blair were eager to be interviewed and to persuade the electorate that they were right. At the time it could be tiring but the reluctance of both Johnson and Corbyn to be interviewed has put that in a different light. But it is thin gruel as an overarching theory, unlike the book itself which is a very worthwhile read.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, this is a decent book which does what it says it will - a whistle-stop tour of fifty years of Prime Ministers. The narrative itself seems a little rushed, with the constant use of ‘ached’ and ‘nerve-shredding’ in most chapters. I found the chapters on Major, Blair and Brown illuminating, with really interesting narrative, while the earlier chapters weren’t as good. I also feel that in covering the more recent PMs the author is less balanced, particularly on Theresa May (although perhaps I am biased here as I think she deserves more credit than she gets). The conclusion is a bit rambling with some startling assertions that don’t seem to be drawn from the deeper analysis of previous chapters.
Still, it’s a tough challenge to cover the breadth of time, politics and personality required for the task, and Richards has produced a book from which I have learned plenty and had several gaps in my knowledge filled in. If it had been more stringently reviewed for repetition and consistency of tone, I would have given it four stars. But I’m a harsh critic.

[Ross Hume · Rating 4 out of 5]

A generally well written and fascinating account of modern leadership, that broadly uses an MSSD approach to contrast prime ministers in terms of their leadership style. The book falls apart slightly on bias, that while broadly leftist throughout, is particularly evident in a damning account of May. Bizarrely (in the updated edn. chapter), he offers a passing grade to the absolute clusterfuck that was the Johnson premiership. Author generally builds an argument that the prime ministers of the past were stronger leaders than the present ones, but can only really offer a case of particularly strong leadership in Thatcher and Blair. Evident in itself given both were reelected on 2 subsequent occasions after their initial victory. I'd propose that the author is also quite narrow in his view of leadership in that a good leader is inherently one that wins elections, although he does contrast this somewhat with a net positive outlook on Brown. In all my criticisms, the number of them is evident of the books strength in that it offers room for these discussions.

[Carôle Ceres · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly Engrossing

I listened to the audiobook version of this title, superbly read by the author.

I wouldn’t say that I’m a political animal, but increasingly this “game” of politics intrigues me.

I found this behind the scenes look at what it takes (& doesn’t take) to be PM, fascinating!

What I enjoyed most about this, was the balanced approach to each person (and they are people)! The pros and cons of the daily struggle to please everyone - especially their own front and back benches - I felt sympathy for both Brown and May, where previously I had thought of them as a bully and clueless (respectively).

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and may well listen to other titles by the author, because this didn’t feel like ‘boring’ politics and that’s because it isn’t!

You will enjoy this book whether you’re a dyed in the wool, living and breathing political believer or a novice with only a passing interest in politics.

[Simon Howard · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was Richards’s book reflecting on the leadership of the nine Prime Ministers from Wilson to May. There is now an extended revised edition also covering Johnson, but I have the original version.

I had mixed feelings about the book. After a lengthy introduction, it was structured chronologically, with roughly forty pages dedicated to each leader. Each profile was readable and interesting, and these struck me as broadly balanced appraisals.

However, I thought that his critical analysis and comparison of the leaders was a little broad-brush: I’m not sure I needed this book to tell me that early elections are dangerous or that Prime Ministers tend to have a honeymoon period where those with a strong idea of what they want to achieve can get a lot done with limited opposition. I had hoped for a little more.

[Megan Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The intention of this book was to give an overview into the prime ministers and leadership over the past 50 years and each leader gets around 40/ 50 pages which I must say are very well written and how the author managed to cram so much detail into those pages! I just wanted more, I felt I had great summaries of each, but felt it lacked depth (which again, I feel is more my different expectations rather than the book itself).

Richards has a slight left view which comes across in the book but I thought overall it was really good in summarising the leadership qualities of all of the leaders and acknowledging that whilst they were all vastly different characters, some shared common characteristics and challenges we haven't thought of! I learned to look at all the prime ministers in a different light, some with a little more sympathy and admiration than I had previously.

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pacy, punchy and perceptive canter through modern prime ministers and their legacies. Richards is effective at comparing and contrasting the leaders' approaches in a continuous thread rather than just setting out standalone profiles of each person. He also posits some fascinating "what if" scenarios, such as if Tony Blair (who held no ministerial office experience) had been foreign secretary or education secretary before being catapulted into 10 Downing Street in 1997. Richards is a fair assessor to all his subjects, setting their triumphs, flaws and failures both in the context of the major events and pressures of the time but also, importantly, through a present day lens to highlight the ramifications for us today of decisions made at the top many years ago. Richards' narrative is authoratitive and engaging throughout in this compelling tour de force.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting and very readable assessment of Prime Ministers from Wilson onwards, with chapters on Wilson, Heath, Thatcher, Blair, and Brown particularly providing great insight and details I hadn’t thought of before. The concept of ‘political teaching’, especially, provides a fresh prism through which to consider the current and future occupants of No. 10. Much of it is framed in almost Shakespearean terms, as per the opening, and it makes for some interesting framing of how the seeds of prime ministerial downfalls are sewn so early on in their tenures.

I didn’t agree on everything but am certainly happy to be challenged and stretched, and an assessment of May so soon after her departure has filled in a lot of gaps and rekindled a lot of memories buried in the 2017-2019 period. Great and readable stuff!

[Colin Hoad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb insights from a guy who really knows his onions. This is a great potted history of the modern PMs, warts and all, assessing what made them good at the job and how they ultimately fell from power as all British PMs have done since Wilson. Richards does a good job at focusing on the traits, quirks and mindsets of the PMs themselves, eschewing lengthy historical narratives and instead homing in on what made these individuals tick. He dispels popular myths while applying a forensic objectivity that avoids straying into overly opinionated views; at the same time he avoids lionising any particular figure and locates strengths and weaknesses in each case.

Very enjoyable and informative, highly recommended.