My Wish Lists Login / Join

Harold MacMillan

By: Charles Williams

Write A Review

Paperback | 29 April 2010 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Paperback
560 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
4.1 x 13.6 x 21.5

Paperback

RRP $41.99

$40.75

or 4 interest-free payments of $10.19 with

Ships in 15 to 25 business days

A masterly biography of a great Conservative Prime Minister (and publisher) - Harold Macmillan (1894-1986).

Harold Macmillan was a figure of paradox. Outwardly, it was Edwardian elegance and civilised urbanity. Inwardly, it was emotional damage from his wife''s open adultery and his progressive perplexity at the onward march of time.

The First World War showed the courageous soldier. From then on, it was politics, rather than the family business of publishing, which was to be his future. Nevertheless, although he supported Churchill in the 1930s he was deemed boring - and certainly not ministerial material.

All changed with the Second World War. Appointed Minister in Residence in North Africa, Macmillan''s career flowered. After the War he became indispensable to Conservative Cabinets and as Churchill''s Minister of Housing in the early 1950s he achieved the target, against all expectations, of 300,000 houses annually. Thereafter, he was Eden''s Foreign Secretary and Chancellor but by then Macmillan had become openly ambitious. Over the Suez affair in 1956 he played a difficult - and somewhat devious - hand. Eden''s resignation left him as the clear choice of his Cabinet colleagues to become Prime Minister.

From 1957 to 1962, Macmillan was a good - some would say a great - Prime Minister. By 1962, however, his government was looking tired. The Profumo affair in 1963 was particularly damaging, and in the autumn of 1963 his health forced him to retire.

Industry Reviews

Charles Williams's thoughtful and well-informed new life...comes as a welcome treat...he captures better than any other writer the tensions between the different facets of Macmillan's personality. - Sunday Times.

Charles Williams' biography is an antidote to nostalgia...a lean compelling narrative with a more detached and critical point of view. - Literary Review.

[Williams] has produced a biography that...is a model of its kind - diligently researched, gracefully written and never short of absorbing. - Daily Telegraph.

A fine achievement, fair in tone and spare in style. This thoroughly absorbing book chronicles the tragic odyssey of an almost-great man. - Independent.

Shipping

	Standard Shipping	Express Shipping
Metro postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Regional postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Rural postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95

Orders over $79.00 qualify for free shipping.

How to return your order

At Booktopia, we offer hassle-free returns in accordance with our returns policy. If you wish to return an item, please get in touch with Booktopia Customer Care.

Additional postage charges may be applicable.

Defective items

If there is a problem with any of the items received for your order then the Booktopia Customer Care team is ready to assist you.

For more info please visit our Help Centre.

You Can Find This Book In

Non-Fiction History Regional & National History European History British & Irish History Earliest Times to Present Day 20th Century History from 1900 to 2000 Post War 20th Century History after 1945 Politics & Government Political Structure & Processes Political Leaders & Leadership Biographies & True Stories

Biographies Historical, Political and Military Biographies Literature, Poetry & Plays Non-Fiction Prose General & World History Miscellaneous Items

Preface	p. 1
Prologue
'The Old Rogue'	p. 5
'Balliol Made Me, Balliol Fed Me'	p. 20
'I Was Very Frightened'	p. 32
'I do Hope It Is Alright'	p. 47
'I Had Never Been To Tees-side'	p. 59
'Why Did You Ever Wake Me?'	p. 73
The First Act
'Very Much the Minister Nowadays'	p. 93
Greeks, Romans and Frenchmen	p. 109
'A Marriage Has Been Arranged'	p. 129
'People Get Very Peculiar After a Time'	p. 153
Waiting in the Wings
A Stranger at Home	p. 179
'This New Opportunity'	p. 191
'Shall I Ever Be Foreign Secretary?'	p. 206
Ambition	p. 224
'We Must Make Use of Israel'	p. 241
'The Last Gasp of a Declining Power'	p. 258
Centre Stage
The Tory Resurrection	p. 279
'You Almost Feel Yourself a Statesman'	p. 298
The Prime Minister	p. 318
'All the Political Domestic Mileage He Can Get'	p. 323
'The Tories Must Wake Up'	p. 336
Le Double Jeu	p. 351
Enter JFK	p. 372
'I am Ageing'	p. 387
'They Don't Really Smile'	p. 401
'We've Got To Do Something for Harold'	p. 414
'Butler Would Be Fatal'	p. 433
The Last Act
The End of the Day	p. 457
Epilogue	p. 469
Notes	p. 479
Note on Sources	p. 511
Select Bibliography	p. 512
Acknowledgements	p. 518
Index	p. 520
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

Harold MacMillan

At a Glance

Paperback

Industry Reviews

Shipping

How to return your order

Defective items

You Can Find This Book In

More in Historical, Political and Military Biographies

Outside the Wire

On the front line with the SAS in Australia's war in Afghanistan

Communion

Finding My Way Back to Faith

Elizabeth II

In Private. In Public. The Inside Story.

Musquito

The real story of a legendary colonial warrior

Long Journey Home

The perilous escapes of Anzac POWs from fascists in wartime Italy

Kosciuszko

The incredible life of the man behind the mountain

Kate!

The Courage, Grace, and Power of the Woman Who Will Be Queen

Survivor

Life in the SAS

The Fourth Turning

An American Prophecy: What the Cycles of History Tell Us About America's Next Rendezvous with Destiny

100 Ways I Almost Died

Running Deep

An Australian Submarine Life

Abandoned Women : Scottish Convicts Exiled Beyond the Seas

Ned Kelly

The Story of Australia's Most Notorious Legend

Putin's People

How the KGB Took Back Russia and then Took On the West

Stalin

The Court of the Red Tsar

Becoming

The Sunday Times Number One Bestseller

Sister Viv

The inspiring gripping WWII story of survival and heroism of a courageous young army nurse from the bestselling award-winning author, shortlisted for the ABIA Biography of the Year 2025

The Rest is History

The official book from the makers of the hit podcast

Max Dupain

A Portrait - The landmark biography of Australia's most iconic photographer from leading curator and award-winning author shortlisted for the National Biography Award

Annette Kellerman, Australian Mermaid

The inspiring true story of the swimming champion and Hollywood star, from the bestselling author of SISTER VIV and THE REMARKABLE MRS REIBY

Too Much and Never Enough

How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man

Mary Penfold

The true story of the great Australian winemaker, from the bestselling award-winning author of SISTER VIV and MR AND MRS GOULD

The Last Battle

Australian SAS, Commandos and our Greatest Victory in our Longest War

Rasputin

And the Downfall of the Romanovs

This product is categorised by