The general gist of the quite public scheme is not only to embarrass the suspect hacks who have stolen quotes and in some cases whole articles from the sites of dedicated bloggers who only exist to give the Public an independent version of accounts.
This book review was sent to me by former Grenadier Guard Keith Standring, I hope you all enjoy reading it and perhaps buy the book!
Cheers Keith,
Zoso
by Simon Ball
ISBN 0-00-257110-2
Harold Macmillan, Oliver Lyttleton (later 1st Viscount Chandos), Bobbety Cranbourne (later Lord Salisbury) and Harry Crookshank all arrived at Eton in 1906, all went to Oxford University, all served in the 2nd Battalion Grenadier Guards on the Western Front during WW1 and all entered the Cabinet under Winston Churchill during WW2. They helped Churchill seize back power from the socialists in 1951 and once more joined his Cabinet, now as senior figures. Macmillan rose to be Prime Minister in 1957. This quartet thus socialised with each other, argued with each other, fought together and climbed the political ladder together for over forty years. ‘From the playing fields of Eton, to the horrors of the Western Front, to the pinnacle of political power’ was not the blurb of a Jeffrey Archer novel but the reality of these men’s lives.
‘Politics is not a flat race, it’s a steeplechase,’ as Churchill once told Macmillan, and these men were friends, colleagues and sometimes enemies as they fought their way up the political ladder, through some of the most pivotal moments of Britain’s twentieth century history – the end of Empire, the beginnings of the Cold War, and the Suez crisis.
Through this biography, Simon Ball presents an extraordinary portrait of ruthless political ambition and intrigue up until Macmillan’s resignation as Prime Minister in 1963. Not only does he expose the political machinations and historical forces which underpinned their alliances and eventual rifts, but he reveals the influences of family, individual character and social rank which were to shape the lives and fortunes of these four fascinating men.
Ball’s book draws on years of original research in many archives, from public records to personal diaries. Lucid, insightful and alive with detail, that presents a gripping account of the workings of politics during the twentieth century. The Guardsmen is a work of consummate scholarship, lightly borne, but above all rendered in prose that is constantly deft and readable. Simon Ball is a historian at the height of his powers.
Keith Standring is a former regular soldier in the Grenadier Guards and is a member of the Conservative Party, The Freedom Association and a supporter of The Bruges Group.
Walking to the train station having finished my lecture this afternoon I took the route I usually do, down past the College and through the small area of bars and takeaways. Something out of the ordinary was happening today though, the Police had cut off access to the other side of the bars leading down to the Photographic museum and Queen Victoria’s statue. As I rounded the corner to the Titus Salt bar I found there to be an ambulance and Police car speeding away up the road towards Bradford Royal Infirmary.
