Author Description

Product Description`Callaghan is a symbol of our present age as well as our past, New Labour as well as Old. He links the age of Clem Attlee and that of Tony Blair.'Kenneth Morgan'This is a classic political life, critical, well-balanced, compellingly written'Brian Brivati, The Times'It is hard to see how the book could have been better done'Alan Watkins, The Spectator'A superb portrait and a fascinating work of historical scholarship that will become a classic text'Ben Pimlott, The Guardian'Callaghan was regarded as the epitome of the Labour Party's right-wing establishment. Yet Kenneth Morgan's biography reveals him to be far more interesting and far more complex than that.'Gerald Kaufman, Daily TelegraphThis fascinating biography, written by leading historian Kenneth Morgan, tells the story of a man who had a unique political career. Starting in humble circumstances, James Callaghan went on to hold all the major offices of state: Chancellor of the Exchequer, Home Secretary, Foreign Secretary, and,for three tumultuous years, from 1976 to 1979, Prime Minister. This meticulously researched study takes the reader from the age of Attlee to the days of New Labour under Blair.Review`Based on Callaghan's own papers plus those of many of his colleagues, as well as interviews and Morgan's own penetrating insights into the broader history of the party, the book has authority stamped all over it... Morgan proves to be a surefooted guide through all aspects of Callaghan'scareer. The account of his early years is both authoritative and moving... this book is a major achievement. It will be required reading for all historians of modern British politics and labour history.'Andrew Thorpe, University of Exeter, Labour History Review, Vol 64, no 1, spring 1999About the AuthorProfessor Kenneth Morgan is former Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, and Honorary Fellow of the Queen's College, Oxford.