{"title":"Francis Beckett","description":"\u003cp\u003eExplore the insightful works of Francis Beckett, a biographer and social commentator known for his accessible yet critical approach. Discover compelling narratives exploring politics, education, and the lives of influential figures.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"clem-attlee-book-francis-beckett-9781860661013","title":"Clem Attlee","description":"As British prime minister from 1945 to 1951, Clement Attlee built a legacy that includes today s famous and controversial National Health Service, yet he is often remembered as a rather dull political figure. Rejecting Winston Churchill s jibe that Attlee was a modest little man with plenty to be modest about, this biography makes the case that his reputation as Britain s greatest reforming prime minister is fully deserved. \u003cbr\u003e Building on his earlier work on Attlee and including new research and stories, many of which are published here for the first time, Francis Beckett highlights Attlee s relevance for a new generation. A poet and dreamer, Attlee led a remarkable political life that saw, among other challenges, the beginning of the Cold War. 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For the first time since the Second World War, there was money, there was safe sex, there was freedom, and no one bothered to stop and remember the price earlier generations had paid for this. Most of them hardly realised the privations of their parents, and the struggle that had taken place to ensure that they were not equally deprived.  What began as the most radical-sounding generation for half a century turned into a random collection of youthful style gurus, sharp-toothed entrepreneurs and management consultants who believed revolution meant new ways of selling things; and Thatcherites, who thought freedom meant free markets, not free people. At last it found its most complete expression in New Labour, which had no idea what either revolution or freedom meant, but rather liked the sound of the words.  While the philosophy of the sixties seemed progressive at the time, the baby boomers we remember are not the political reformers, but the millionaires. In What Did the Baby Boomers Ever Do for Us? Francis Beckett argues that the children of the '60s betrayed the generations that came before and after, and that the true legacy of the swinging decade is ashes.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49524978254097,"sku":"GOR003735156","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53503603966225,"sku":"GOR005817951","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1849540268.jpg?v=1751154618"},{"product_id":"blair-inc-book-francis-beckett-9781784183707","title":"Blair Inc.","description":"Since leaving office in 2007, the empire of Tony Blair has grown exponentially. As a businessman he has been unprecedentedly successful for a former public servant, with a large property portfolio and an estimated GBP80 million of earnings accrued in just a few short years. But how has he managed to achieve this?  Being an ex-Prime Minister comes with certain advantages, and besides his excellent state pension and twenty-four-hour security team, Blair enjoys the best contacts that money can buy  -  as do those willing to pay him for access to those contacts. Consequently, Tony Blair Associates' clients can be found around the world, and include the controversial presidents of Kazakhstan and Burma.  There is also Blair's role as special envoy in the Middle East. While his record as a peacemaker is in doubt, the position has brought him into contact with a variety of oil-rich potentates in the region who now number among his most profitable clients. Blair Inc.: The Man behind the Mask takes a close look at the complex financial structures in Blair's world. From the many layers of tax liability to the multiple conflicts of interest produced by his increasing web of relationships, this book exposes the private dealings of this very public figure.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49525976957201,"sku":"GOR006625636","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49535335989521,"sku":"GOR010159501","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":50390113354001,"sku":"CIN1784183709A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50390114500881,"sku":"CIN1784183709G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50390119153937,"sku":"CIN1784183709VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50513774739729,"sku":"GOR006560717","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51389388685585,"sku":"GOR014251531","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1784183709.jpg?v=1750897862"},{"product_id":"clem-attlee-book-francis-beckett-9781910376058","title":"Clem Attlee","description":"Far from Winston Churchill's jibe that he was a \"modest little man with plenty to be modest about,\" in this acclaimed biography, comprehensively revised in this new edition, Francis Beckett makes the case that Clement Attlee's reputation as Britain's greatest ever reforming Prime Minister is fully deserved. With new research, thinking and stories (many of them never published before) Beckett compelling shows Attlee's relevance to a new political generation. Far from being a dull, grey man, he was a poet and a dreamer. 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Each profile includes statistical information about the school - results, social and ethnic backgrounds - designed to show where the school stands and the extent to which it has improved under the head being profit led. \"How to Create a Successful School\" is a brilliant addition to the eternal debate on public education, but more importantly, a signpost to what can be achieved in the most difficult of situations.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49530309214481,"sku":"GOR005648913","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1849540160.jpg?v=1751154617"},{"product_id":"enemy-within-book-francis-beckett-9780850364774","title":"Enemy within","description":"A history of the British left and its Communist Party.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49532368191761,"sku":"GOR013657871","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49582587740433,"sku":"GOR002047009","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49730390720785,"sku":"NGR9780850364774","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51682774876433,"sku":"GOR002517034","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0850364779.jpg?v=1751455645"},{"product_id":"bevan-book-francis-beckett-9781904341635","title":"Bevan","description":"Biography of the miner's son and Labour politician who created the British National Health Service","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49534108664081,"sku":"GOR002591227","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1904341632.jpg?v=1771497497"},{"product_id":"1956-book-francis-beckett-9781849549127","title":"1956","description":"1956: a defining year that heralded the modern era.Britain and France occupied Suez, and the Soviet Union tanks rolled into Hungary. 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Rock 'n' roll music was replacing the gentle pop songs of Mum and Dad's generation, and it was the first full year of independent television.As post-war assumptions were shattered, the upper middle class was shaken and the communist left was shocked, radical new ideas about sex, skiffle and socialism emerged, and attitudes shifted on an unprecedented scale - precipitated by the decline of Attlee's Britain and the first intimations of Thatcher's.From politics and conflict to sport and entertainment, this extraordinary book transports us back in time on a whirlwind journey through the history, headlines and happenings of this most momentous of years, vividlycapturing the revolutionary spirit of 1956 - the year that changed Britain.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49534556766481,"sku":"GOR007139986","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49561988268305,"sku":"GOR008489723","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53262421262609,"sku":"GOR009792766","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1849549125.jpg?v=1751154629"},{"product_id":"enemy-within-book-francis-beckett-9780719553103","title":"The Enemy within","description":"The story of the British Communist Party from 1920 onwards. 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From the many layers of tax liability to the multiple conflicts of interest produced by his increasing web of relationships, this book exposes the private dealings of this very public figure.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49540208034065,"sku":"GOR007179568","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49592947835153,"sku":"GOR006937431","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1784186481.jpg?v=1751312058"},{"product_id":"clem-attlee-book-francis-beckett-9781902301709","title":"Clem Attlee","description":"A biography of Attlee, a remarkable man who took Britain into uncharted territory.  Attlee created the welfare state and the NHS and also nationalised a fifth of Britain's economy. 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NORMAN TEBBIT  Each of these chapters in this book of political counterfactuals describes a premiership that never happened, but might easily have done had the chips fallen slightly differently.  The contributors, each of them experts in political history, have asked themselves questions like: what shape would the welfare state and the cold war have taken if the Prime Minister had been Herbert Morrison instead of Clement Attlee? What would have been consequences for Northern Ireland had Norman Tebbit succeeded Margaret Thatcher? How would our present life be different without New Labour - a name we would never have heard if either Kinnock or Smith had become Prime Minister and not Tony Blair? Each of the chapters in this book describes events that really might have happened. 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The welfare state and the National Health Service were created, and money was found to build new schools and expand higher education - even at a time just after the Second World War when Britain was virtually bankrupt. This book concentrates on his political career, but also gives ample coverage to his childhood and his family life.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49569144275217,"sku":"GOR002537976","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1842751921.jpg?v=1751154298"},{"product_id":"stalin-s-british-victims-book-francis-beckett-9780750932233","title":"Stalin's British Victims","description":"The history of Stalin's British victims","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49571317121297,"sku":"GOR001895852","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50986225041681,"sku":"CIN0750932236G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0750932236.jpg?v=1751421704"},{"product_id":"survivor-book-francis-beckett-9781845131104","title":"The Survivor","description":"Who is Tony Blair? 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No one who reads this book will view our Prime Minister in the same way again.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49573402050833,"sku":"GOR010857607","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49664178094353,"sku":"GOR001944102","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51430089818385,"sku":"GOR006609573","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/184513110X.jpg?v=1750995216"},{"product_id":"blairs-and-their-court-book-francis-beckett-9781845130244","title":"The Blairs and Their Court","description":"Who is Tony Blair? What does he really believe? And what about Cherie Booth - often considered the real brains in the partnership, and a crucial influence over her husband? 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