Product Description

In the late 1940s and 50s, the Liberal Party seemed doomed to irrelevance. Its few MPs held their seats as a result of pacts to which Winston Churchill turned a blind eye. Its share of the vote was just 2.5%. Clement Davies, its leader at the time, in one of the bravest decisions he made, refused an offer of a merger from Churchill and chose to soldier on. However, it was Grimond, who picked up the mantle of leader after Davies' resignation and, in the face of seemingly insuperable odds, turned the fortunes of the Liberal Party around. When Grimond passed the torch on to his successor, Jeremy Thorpe, the Liberals were secure in their independence as the third force in British politics.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #808096 in Books
• Published on: 2007-03-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 352 pages

Review
'A lion of the Liberal cause' - PADDY ASHDOWN

About the Author
MICHAEL MCMANUS was educated at Winchester and Lincoln College, Oxford where he gained a 1st in Politics, Philosophy and Economics, winning the Gibbs prize for the best politics papers in the university. He has worked in Conservative Central Office and from 1995 to 2000 ran the private office of Sir Edward Heath, during which time he helped extensively with the preparation and writing of Sir Edward's prize-winning memoirs published by Hodder Headline. He stood as Conservative candidate in Watford in the 2001 election. He lives in Watford.

Customer Reviews

lucid and important
Grimond is one of the most interesting post-war political figures, and arguably one of the most important. Without him, the Liberal party would probably have vanished off the electoral map; the party realignments of the 1980s wouldn't have happened; Thatcherism and New Labour might have emerged very differently.

A biography is long overdue; fortunately, this effort is right on the spot. It is hugely accessible and readable; but Mr McManus has mastered a welath of detail to bring his subject alive. Its account of the politics is first rate, but so too is its presentation of the man himself. Lots of local colour and anecdote mingle with a sane and balanced political understanding. One of the very best political biographies of recent years.

A well written account of Mr Grimonds life
Very well-written and entertaining biography.
The author has done a suberb job for his subject, I will look out for more of his works in the future.

Paddy Ashdown's Top 5
A work of panache, erudition and élan. With the Lib Dems currently imploding under the weight of their respective "personal diffculties", it's comforting to recall that there used to be a figure in the party who had genuine gravitas in a time when politics was a less opaque profession. I haven't read this myself but my Father has. He says he enjoyed it very much (bear in mind that the last time he finished a book was in 1977, Erich von Däniken - "Chariots of the Gods", I seem to remember). Buy it!