Brief Lives

by W. F. Deedes

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Book cover for Brief Lives

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'Concise, wise and compassionate' Jason Cowley, New Statesman In this eclectic selection of biographical sketches Bill Deedes remembers some of the key figures of the twentieth century. Political heavyweights such as Ramsay MacDonald, Stanley Baldwin and Anthony Eden are reassessed and re-evalued, while record breakers such as Sir Edmund Hillary and Roger Bannister are shown to be far more than just their achievements. Further afield, W. F. Deedes ruminates on the chaotic and shady world of Imelda Marcos, the dignity and determination of anti-apartheid campaigner Helen Suzman and the controversial leadership of Ian Smith in Rhodesia. But there are lighter portraits too. Noel Coward, with his useful advice on trains, Mary Whitehouse's inadvertent demonstration of pornography and Malcolm Muggeridge's half-hearted suicide attempt all feature in this delightful compendium. Like his previous books, Dear Bill and At War With Waugh, Brief Lives is an affectionate, perceptive and anecdotal book, bursting with life, humour and wit.
  • ISBN10 0330426397
  • ISBN13 9780330426398
  • Publish Date 3 June 2005 (first published 2 July 2004)
  • Publish Status Out of Print
  • Out of Print 5 April 2013
  • Publish Country GB
  • Publisher Pan Macmillan
  • Imprint Pan Books
  • Edition Unabridged edition
  • Format Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
  • Pages 224
  • Language English