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Harold Wilson held out the promise of technology and of 'the Britain that is going to be forged in the white heat of this revolution'. A balance of payment crisis, leading to devaluation in 1967, frustrated the fulfilment of his primeministerial promises. Meanwhile foreign affaris were dominated by the issue of Rhodesia, in which Wilson took a personal initiative in diplomacy with Ian Smith but failed to make any progress.
170 pages, Paperback
First published October 13, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 2, 2020
I've been working my way through most of the entries from this series of books and have, on the whole, found them to be of a very high standard. They don't go into large amounts of detail, sure, but are all relatively well written and give a very good insight into a prime minister's general premier. All, that is, apart from the book on Harold Wilson.
Most of the other books in this series are written by historians, and a few of them are even written by politicians. This one, however, is written by a journalist for the Daily Mirror, and I don't particularly think his writing style is suited to writing long form books. Not only are many of the sentences confusing to wrap your head around, whether because of actual error or strange wording ("It was unclear where Wilson's unlooked for success would take the nation" is especially bad), but there are also loads of acronyms - not a bad thing necessarily, but the book only lists what they stand for once and the index doesn't give you any insight either. There really are loads, as well; DEA, TUC, NUM, CBI, CIR, NEC, ACAS, PLP... My memories fairly good, but it only goes so far, especially when you read what DEA stands for in the first few pages then it crops up right at the end of the book, for example.
I'd recommend checking out quite a few of the books in these series (Macmillan, Lloyd-George and Atlee especially), but likely suggest giving this one a miss.
Most of the other books in this series are written by historians, and a few of them are even written by politicians. This one, however, is written by a journalist for the Daily Mirror, and I don't particularly think his writing style is suited to writing long form books. Not only are many of the sentences confusing to wrap your head around, whether because of actual error or strange wording ("It was unclear where Wilson's unlooked for success would take the nation" is especially bad), but there are also loads of acronyms - not a bad thing necessarily, but the book only lists what they stand for once and the index doesn't give you any insight either. There really are loads, as well; DEA, TUC, NUM, CBI, CIR, NEC, ACAS, PLP... My memories fairly good, but it only goes so far, especially when you read what DEA stands for in the first few pages then it crops up right at the end of the book, for example.
I'd recommend checking out quite a few of the books in these series (Macmillan, Lloyd-George and Atlee especially), but likely suggest giving this one a miss.
December 9, 2024
This is a good series and one of the more enjoyably written ones. Would recommend.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews