Product Description

A biography of Airey Neave, Colditz escapee, MI6 officer, mastermind of Margaret Thatcher's leadership campaign and on the verge of being her first Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he was brutally murdered in the palace of Westminster by the INLA. Neave's sensational escape and his equally sensational death are the extent of most people's knowledge and appreciation of one of Britain's most mysterious public figures. The two events, separated by 35 years, are crucially linked: Neave joined a division of MI6 following his wartime bravery to advise other would-be escapees. He was also active in establishing the Gladio network with SOE. Soon after the war, and after working as a prosecutor at the Nuremberg trials, he successfully entered Parliament as Conservative MP for Abingdon, where he sat until his death. Overlooked by Macmillan and Heath for high office, ostensibly on health grounds, Neave pursued a public life of a very unusual kind: he became conspicuously inconspicuous, operating almost entirely outside the public gaze. During the early 1970s Neave was in contact with anti-Wilson plotters and by 1974 he was calling for Edward Heath's resignation too, seeing weakness in the Tory leader's capitulation to the miners. Thatcher was his crusading angel and he ran a brilliant leadership campaign, fooling more experienced candidates into complacency and securing Thatcher's triumph. She offered him any job in her Cabinet in return. Inexplicably to most he chose Northern Ireland and had prepared the most confrontational and explicitly belligerent strategy ever seen there. A matter of weeks before Thatcher's General Election victory began 18 years of Conservative government, Neave's extraordinary life of intrigue and scheming was ended by a plot he had not foreseen.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #469718 in Books
• Published on: 2002-03-04
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 392 pages

Review
Praise for Paul Routledge: On GORDON BROWN: THE BIOGRAPHY: 'This book threatens to do for the Labour government what Diana: Her True Story did for the Royal Family.' THE GUARDIAN On JOHN HUME: 'A brilliant biography' Grey Gowrie On MANDY: 'This is sensitive contemporary history, catching every rustle among the leaves.' SPECTATOR On SCARGILL: Absorbing. Fascinating. This is an unputdownable story.' Paul Barker, THE TIMES

About the Author
Paul Routledge is a distinguished political commentator, shortlisted for the 2000 Channel 4/Politicos political journalist of the year he has worked for the Independent, the Times and the Mirror. He is the author of several books, the last a biography of Peter Mandelson.

Customer Reviews

Excellent - better than some of his previous offerings
This is a very good book. Routledge has managed to avoid the mistakes of two of his previous biographies (the ones on Madelson and on Gordon Brown) the former of which was filled with vitriol. He has produced an interesting, readable, and balanced acount of the life of Airey Neave.

Neave turns out to be an interesting charector, officer at the Nurenberg Trials, escapee from Colditz, secret intelligence officer during WW2. He seems never to have been able to leave his Secret Service background, nor ever wishing to it would seem. Being involved with the leadership election which brought Margaret Thatcher to the leadership of the Conservative power. His life was cut short by an INLA Bomb in the precincts of Parliament.

One criticism of Routledge must be that he gets caught up with the idea that there were right-wing groups involving former Military personnel, Secret Service members and right-wing citizens hoping to form a militia to overthrow the Wilson Government. Whilst this is a fascinating subject, it bears little relation to objective reality, and does pander to those interested in conspiracy theories. On the whole though this is a very well written book.

A fascinating character
I have just finished reading this remarkable account of the life and death of Airey Neave. I was aware of the amazing Mr Neave through his service to the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials but I did not know much about him. This book has definitely remedied this.

The book is comprehensive, easy to read and obviously well researched. His life is interesting and you realise as you read the book how much of an impact he made "behind the lines" both as a military man/spy/politician. The book is fast paced and keeps your interest in the subject. However, it does suffer a little with all the half truths of the conspiracy theories surrounding his death, and who were the organising forces behind it, but overall it is well worth a read.

The thing that struck me most about Airey Neave was his patriotism and his devotion to Queen and Country. Although not a lot is mentioned about his family (they did not consent to the biography) you get the impression he was happy as a family man and devoted to his wife.

This man was an incredible character, patriotic, brave and ruthless. His passion for his job and the fact that he was never very far away from his beloved security services all his life make this man well worth reading about. I would recommend this book and congratulate Paul Routledge on a job well done

Very good
This biography of Airey Neave is very interesting and fast-paced and provides an interesting look at the life of a forgotten politician. It is particularly informative about his war service and his escape from Colditz. However, towards the end it does get bogged down with conspiracies which damages the work as a whole.