Product Description

The definitive, controversial, authroised biography of 1 of the defining political figures of postwar Britain. There have been many biographies of Enoch Powell - this will be the 7th or the 8th. They testify at least to the fascination we have for him, but none will be a patch on Simon Heffer's, the only 1 written with full access to all his personal and public papers, by 1 of Britain's leading conservative commentators and, with his acclaimed book on Carlyle published by Weidenfeld & Nicholson, 1 of it's most promising biographers. The book will cover all aspects of Powell's life : his Midlands childhood, his teaching by A.E.Housman, his appointment at the age of 25 as professor of Greek at the University of Adelaide, his writing of poetry, his love for an aristocratic Irish woman, his resignation from Macmillans cabinet, the Rivers of Blood speech, and his spiritual Godfathering of Margaret Thatcher. It will also, effectively, be a history of postwar British politics from Powell's perspective, and should be 1 of the highlights of the Autumn 1998 season.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #114765 in Books
• Published on: 1998-11-23
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 969 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
When Enoch Powell died in February 1998, British politics lost one of its most remarkable and intelligent figures. A controversial politician, Powell is most widely remembered for his infamous "Rivers of Blood" speech on immigration in 1968 while the Labour government was trying to pass its race relations legislation. He was sacked from the Shadow Cabinet as a result of the ensuing outcry. Whatever the consequences for race relations in Britain-–and many would still maintain that Powell helped to engender a climate of fear and mistrust in which National Front activity steadily increased for more than a decade afterwards-–the speech destroyed Powell's political career.

In a controversial account of a controversial man, Heffer goes some way towards rescuing Powell from demonisation--though there's no getting away from how hilariously curmudgeonly he often was. He seemed to spend his entire childhood being 81 years old; Heffer's account of the proud, spiky Classical scholar (Powell's precocity in this area was astonishing) poncing about like Socrates, his flirtation with morbid German Romanticism and his desire for war, and his success in the army despite his mannerisms and brusque, self- assured superiority do eventually make him a human, almost sympathetic character; but one is not always sure that Heffer is right to attribute irony to Powell's more drastic remarks rather than, say, arrogance or naivety.

What Heffer has done--remarkably swiftly, given that he only saw Powell's most personal papers after his death--is to provide an enormous, well-sourced and sympathetic biography of a towering yet flawed figure. It has wit and an attention to detail that would have pleased the pedantic Powell in his guise of scholar. The youngest ever British professor, promoted from private to brigadier during World War Two, and a much-loved politician for two parties, Powell also wrote tolerable romantic poetry (in the mould of A.E. Housman). One is left with a sense of sadness that such an intelligent and hard-working man was so coldly intellectual as never to appreciate the appalling consequences of his discussion of race and immigration. Whether or not Powell was a racist (and even his enemies seem to have doubted this) his ideas were received rapturously by those who were. But there was more to the man than that; and this is a surprisingly engaging portrait of a sometimes disagreeable genius. --Robert Potts

From the Publisher
A fine biography of one of the greatest orators, parliamentarians and political thinkers of modern times…compelling” Margaret Thatcher, Daily Telegraph

About the Author
Simon Heffer was born in 1960 and educated at King Edward VI School, Chelmsford, and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, where he read English. He is now a political columnist with the Daily Mail and has previously been political editor of The Spectator and deputy editor of the Daily Telegraph.

Customer Reviews

An insight into 50 years of politics
Having had a high regard for Enoch Powel despite being as far from him in political terms as it is possible to get it did not surprise me to find from this book that he was also regarded the same way by many of his political opponents.
He and Tony Benn were two sides of the same coin - alas extinct in modern politics - honourable, intelligent men and real politicians.
Simon Heffer's excellent biography is not to be started lightly but once commenced is difficult to put down. It captures the man from his speeches, writing and broadcasting and, for one who lived through the era in question, brings it all back to mind.
Despite being uncritical about the correctness of Powell's economic theories the book lays out a fascinating study of a great man.
Anyone who harbours the opinion that Enoch Powell was a racist will be sadly disabused if they read this.

Captivating political biography
This is the finest book ever written about one of Britain's greatest politicians. Heffer's superbly detailed account of this remarkable man fills one with admiration. This is the kind of the book that forms and advances political philosophies - anyone wanting to see through today's arguments on Europe or immigration or economics should read this. They will never be fooled again.

Soldier, academic, poet, philosopher, politician.
Enoch Powell was many things to many people; not least because he was many things. An esteemed academic, Powell was the authority on Greek language and literature - a master scholar; a genius.

To the ill-informed, he was, above all a racist and a fascist. It is only when one realises that he staked his life, with millions of others, in the defence of democracy and the defeat of Nazism in World War II, that it is possible to see just how wrong this perecption is.

This book chronicles Powell's life from his unremarkable uprbringing in the West Midlands, through a highly remarkable academic career, a distinguished service of Britain in her Armed Forces, through to his time in Paliament as a Tory, Ulster Unionist, and elder statesman.

Two minor criticisms would be that there is simply too much detail, especially of Parliamentary exchanges, that is too procedural, and too impersonal, and that, secondly, too little emphasis is given to his later years and an analysis of his political legacy.

Certainly, this book is far too detailed for the casual reader: if you merely want an overview of Powell's life, his motivations, his impact, this is not it. As an 18 year old Conservative, this book was both fascinating and surprising. The fact that I expected not to be impressed with a man labelled 'racist', 'fascist', 'out-dated' etc., perhaps bears testament to Powell's dire predictions of the rise of the Political Correct classes' influence. I certainly was impressed, and anyone bringing a remotely Conservative mind - or, I suggest, open mind - to this book would struggle to be otherwise.

Powell is undoubtedly best-known for his 'Rivers of Blood' speech. The scourge of the Left, the hate figure of the race relations industry, Powell predicted apocalyptic consequences of an open-house immigration policy. It will, again, surprise many that he didn't even use the phrase 'rivers of blood' in this, or any other speech. He warned, with justification, that mass-immigration was risky; his warnings resound today as greatly as ever.

Simon Heffer is undoubtedly sympathetic to Powell. The author savages the liberal elite on Powell's posthumous behalf, sympathising with his bitter dislike of so-called Conservative like Ted Heath, but this is by no means sycophantic.

That he is remembered as a one-issue crusader is unfortunate. Powell understood how economies work thirty years before the Conservative Party. He invented monetarism and set out the principles of Thatcherism decades before Britain had its first female PM.

He was an arch-capitalist, defender of the Union, and opponent of a federal Europe. His views are held now, almost in their entirety, by mainstream Conservatives, whilst the ex-PM Margaret Thatcher openly cites his as a major influence. His economic analyses are shared by politicians of all colours today, his concern for immigration by the mass of the population, and his Euro-scepticism by the majority of 'Europeans'.

When he died, a floral tribute placed outside read simply "You were right". I suspect Heffer agrees with this, but he is not blinded by his personal affection for a great soldier, academic, poet, philosopher, and politician.