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OverviewThe untold story of British politics in modern times, through the triumphs and disasters of its five most radical figures In the great revolutionary year of 1968, Tony Benn was a respectable Labour minister in his forties, and he was restless. While new social movements were shaking up Britain and much of the world, Westminster politics seemed stuck. It was time, he decided, for a different approach. Over the next half century, the radicalized Benn helped forge a new left in Britain. He was joined by four other politicians, who would become comrades, collaborators and rivals- Ken Livingstone, John McDonnell, Diane Abbott and Jeremy Corbyn. For Andy Beckett, the story of these admired and loathed political explorers - both their sudden breakthroughs and long stretches in the wilderness - is the untold story of British politics in modern times. As he reveals, their project to create a radically more equal, liberal and democratic Britain has been much more influential than electoral history might suggest, and can be seen from the shape of our city life to the causes of our culture wars. For their many detractors, this influence was and remains dangerous- a form of extremism that must be stamped out. But as these five searchers believed, in politics there is no total victory - nor total defeat. Full Product DetailsAuthor: Andy BeckettPublisher: Penguin Books Ltd Imprint: Allen Lane Dimensions: Width: 16.10cm , Height: 3.70cm , Length: 24.10cm Weight: 0.951kg ISBN: 9780241394229ISBN 10: 0241394228 Pages: 560 Publication Date: 02 May 2024 Audience: General/trade , College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , General , Tertiary & Higher Education Format: Hardback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: Not yet available  This item is yet to be released. You can pre-order this item and we will dispatch it to you upon its release. Table of ContentsReviewsVividly detailed and often gripping -- Joe Moran * The Guardian * A breath of fresh air: a vivid eye for detail meets narrative pacing that seems effortless... As a character study, and as an evocation of Britain in the last century, it would be worth reading even if you had no particular interest in the subject matter...a masterclass in teasing out complex stories of simultaneous failure and success -- Morgan Jones * LabourList * This is a premier account… a group biography of how ‘five heretics’… came out of the politics of the 1970s to upend the politics of the 2010s… Beckett is funny on the own goals and gaffes of a wide spectrum of the British media during years that they did not understand… There is no shortage of bleak lessons for the Left whilst reading The Searchers, but some causes for hope -- Fergal Kinney * Tribune * Andy Beckett’s compelling history of the five politicians who made that movement in Britain… Beckett tells a good human story about five politicians he rightly identifies as more easily mythologised than understood, and more often than not derided and excluded by their colleagues… Neither left nor right are honest enough often enough about these people, and more’s the pity: understanding what they have achieved requires the sort of untypical, bracing honesty that Beckett applies so artfully here, having spent plenty of time listening and speaking to these politicians — as too few of his journalistic colleagues have… The Searchers should be studied closely by anyone with a stake in British politics -- Patrick Maguire * The Times * An absorbing history of Labour’s radical left from the late 1960s to its present marginalisation -- Jason Cowley * Observer * PRAISE FOR PROMISED YOU A MIRACLE: 'Lively, provoking, bracingly anti-nostalgic.' -- Hilary Mantel An anthology of an age . . . A book that offers so much pleasure and insight. -- Ian Jack * Guardian * Intelligent, entertaining, readable, convincing and timely. It is history well told and properly done. -- Daniel Finkelstein * The Times * Andy Beckett’s compelling history of the five politicians who made that movement in Britain… Beckett tells a good human story about five politicians he rightly identifies as more easily mythologised than understood, and more often than not derided and excluded by their colleagues… Neither left nor right are honest enough often enough about these people, and more’s the pity: understanding what they have achieved requires the sort of untypical, bracing honesty that Beckett applies so artfully here, having spent plenty of time listening and speaking to these politicians — as too few of his journalistic colleagues have… The Searchers should be studied closely by anyone with a stake in British politics -- Patrick Maguire * The Times * An absorbing history of Labour’s radical left from the late 1960s to its present marginalisation -- Jason Cowley * Observer * PRAISE FOR PROMISED YOU A MIRACLE: 'Lively, provoking, bracingly anti-nostalgic.' -- Hilary Mantel An anthology of an age . . . A book that offers so much pleasure and insight. -- Ian Jack * Guardian * Intelligent, entertaining, readable, convincing and timely. It is history well told and properly done. -- Daniel Finkelstein * The Times * PRAISE FOR PROMISED YOU A MIRACLE: 'Lively, provoking, bracingly anti-nostalgic.' -- Hilary Mantel An anthology of an age . . . A book that offers so much pleasure and insight. -- Ian Jack * Guardian * Intelligent, entertaining, readable, convincing and timely. It is history well told and properly done. -- Daniel Finkelstein * The Times * Author InformationAndy Beckett is a Guardian columnist. He has also written for the Economist, The New York Times magazine, the London Review of Books and the Independent on Sunday. His previous books are Promised You A Miracle, When the Lights Went Out and Pinochet in Piccadilly. Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |
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