The first volume of Anthony Seldon's riveting and definitive life of Tony Blair was published to great acclaim in 2004. Now, as the Labour Party and the country get used to the idea of a new leader and a new Prime Minister, Seldon delivers the most complete, authoritative and compelling account yet of the Blair premiership. Picking up the story in dramatic fashion on 11 September 2001, Seldon recaps very briefly Blair's trajectory to what may now be regarded as the high-point of his leadership, and then brings us right up to date as Blair hands over the reins to his arch-rival, Gordon Brown. Based on hundreds of original interviews with key insiders, many of whose views have hitherto been kept private, Blair Unbound serves both as a fascinating 'volume two' of this masterclass in political biography and a highly revealing and compelling book in its own right.

With his trademark access, insight and candour, Britain's leading investigative biographer tackles his most fascinating subject yet: Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, the UK's Prime Minister. As divisive as he is beguiling, as misunderstood as he is scrutinised, Boris Johnson is a singular figure. Many of us think we know his story well. His ruthless ambition was evident from his insistence, as a three-year-old, that he would one day be 'world king'. Eton and Oxford prepared him well for a frantic career straddling the dog-eat-dog worlds of journalism and politics. His transformation from bumbling stooge on Have I Got New for You to a triumphant Mayor of London was overshadowed only by his colourful personal life, brimming with affairs, scandals and transgressions. His ascent to Number 10 in the wake of the acrimonious, era-defining Brexit referendum would prove to be only the first act in an epic drama that saw him play both hero and villain - from proroguing parliament to his controversial leadership of the Covid-19 Crisis, all against the backdrop of divorce, marriage, the birth of his sixth child, revolts among Tory MPs and the countdown to Brexit. Yet despite his celebrity, decades of media scrutiny, the endless vitriol of his critics and the enduring adoration of his supporters, there is so much we've never understood about Boris - until now. Previous biographies have either dismissed him as a lazy, deceitful opportunist or been transfixed by his charm, wit and drive. Both approaches fall short, and so many questions about Boris remain unanswered. What seismic events of his childhood have evaded scrutiny? How has he so consistently defied the odds, proved his critics wrong, and got away with increasingly reckless gambles? What were his real achievements and failures as Mayor of London, what was really going on during his time as Foreign Secretary, and why did he write two articles for the Telegraph, one in favour of Leave and the other for Remain? How have the women in his life exerted more influence than any of us realise, and why is his story ultimately one overshadowed by family secrets? Based on a wealth of new interviews and research, this is the deepest, most rounded and most comprehensive portrait to date of the man, the mind, the politics, the affairs, the family - of a loner, a lover, a leader. Revelatory, unsettling and compulsively readable, it is the most timely and indispensable book yet from Britain's leading investigative biographer

One of only two post-war Prime Ministers who can claim to have changed the society in which we live, Attlee was the architect of the NHS and the Welfare State. Beckett presents a biography of the great - and greatly underrated - Labour leader.

"Traces the three major periods of Begin's life and the events and influences in each that formed his personality, ideology, and opinions: his early years in Poland as a leader in the right-wing youth movement Betar, and later, during World War II, his years in a Soviet prison camp; his years during the 1940s when, as head of the underground, he directed attacks against the British while in hiding; and, since the founding of the state of Israel, his years in political life as leader of the opposition." -- Dust jacket.

Blair Unbound, written with Peter Snowdon and Daniel Ceilings, takes the Prime Minister's story from 2001 until his final day in power on 27 June 2007. It recounts how Blair matures as a political leader, finds his voice and personal agenda at home and abroad, and divests himself of the figures who had helped him rise to power but then held him back. Critical in this transformation is 9/11, firing him with the vision of becoming a world leader.

Focuses on the twenty key episodes of Blair's life and career, and the twenty key personalities with whom he has surrounded himnself. A gripping and revelatory book about the man who has shaped modern Britain.

Gordon Brown was the Chancellor of the Exchequer for over a decade and his influence over domestic policy has been unprecedented in British political history. Francis Beckett examines Brown's past and his record in government.

"From cruise-ship crooner to real-estate tycoon, billionaire media mogul to the longest-serving and most controversial Prime Minister Italy has ever known, Silvio Berlusconi's life has been nothing less than a whirlwind of epic transformations. A self-made hero of the people to some, while a sex-crazed, interest-driven opportunist to others, this polarising figure evokes strong reactions from both sides of the political spectrum - adored and despised in equal measure by the Italian electorate, and seen as something of an enigma by the rest of the world."--Publisher's web site.

A book on Callaghan.

In this hard-hitting and explosive book, reforming parliamentarian Leo Abse presents a remarkable analysis of Tony Blair. Originally published in 1996 to critical acclaim and a storm of controversy, the author has completely revised and updated it to scrutinise Blair's premiership years. In a powerfully penetrating and forthright investigation of Blair's pysche. Abse deploys his psychoanalytical scholarship to consider the forces and influences that have driven Blair. He examines the house of secrets in which Blair was reared, where the promiscuous grandmother forever cast a shadow, where the illegitimate stricken father -- authoritative, ambitious and politically unstable -- dominated the household, and where death unfairly invaded the family domain. Abse goes on to show how the traumatic events of Blair's childhood left him a loner, an estranged man who sought to resolve his private dilemmas in rock music and religion and then, belatedly, in politics.

How can we remember Pierre Trudeau? Let Zolf count the ways.First he was the wisest (or the wiliest?) of the Wise Men, the Philosopher King with the potion of "Reason Above Passion." Then he was the star of Trudeaumania, "our permanent Expo": suddenly Canada had a prime minister who could surf, shrug, frug, flip and flirt. In 1970 there was the macho Trudeau of War Measures, daring a nation of pantywaists to "Just Watch Me." More roles followed. With so many masks, the fifteenth prime minister bedazzled the people for sixteen years, when suddenly they awoke to ask, "What did he do to us?"Written as Trudeau retired from active politics, illustrated with dozens of photographs chronicling his career, Just Watch Me is a fascinating record of the career of one of Canada's most enigmatic leaders.

Paradoxically his success with the USA jeopardised his efforts to get Britain into the European Economic Community, for it was one of the reasons why the French President Charles de Gaulle vetoed Britain's application to join in 1963.

"A Leader Must Be A Leader essays political leadership in modern Canada. Based on impressions and personal encounters with each of the last 11 Prime Ministers, their followers, and reflections on their paths to power, their legacies still being written on the pages of history -all in the context of their times as observed through the eyes of an up close political activist and participant. Based on impressions and personal encounters with each of the last 11 Canadian Prime Ministers, Senator Jerry Grafstein has explored their paths to power, considering the legacies they have left on the pages of history. Like all politicians, Grafstein became obsessed with the factors that made a leader a leader. Is leadership a natural or a learned skill set? What unique amalgam of oratory skill, ambition, character, persistence, detachment, decisiveness, empathy, intelligence, personality, experiences, memory, common sense, ideas, judgement, temperament and, most especially, self-awareness, separate wannabe leaders from the pinnacle of leadership? This is a unique book written by an acute legal mind, a powerful political strategist, a very successful media and communication expert, an engaged Canadian, and a most thoughtful Liberal. Senator Grafstein assesses, evaluates, and appreciates these Canadian Prime Ministers with insight, humor, and generosity."--

""I had to save Rhodesia."" Thus Sir Garfield Todd, a towering figure in the history of Zimbabwe and Southern Africa, defined his mission. He was a missionary from New Zealand who became a Zimbabwean and six years after entering politics became Prime Minister of Southern Rhodesia in the early years of the ill-fated Central African Federation. He highlighted the dilemmas experienced by white liberals--derided by whites and denounced by black nationalists as sell-outs. Garfield Todd combined high intelligence, strong self-will, immense energy, great oratory and a sense of high moral purpose, but was a man of contradictions. He entered politics to oppose racial discrimination yet joined, and eventually led, the establishment party of white privilege. Todd has a unique and major place in the making of Zimbabwe, and in the history of Southern Africa and modern Africa.