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Turning Points
- Author
- Steve Richards
- Narrator
- Steve Richards
- Publisher
- Pan Macmillan
- Publish Date
- 21 September 2023
- Run Time
- 12 hours 57 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
What to expect
The Times Best Politics and Current Affairs Books of the Year
An entertaining and revealing history of modern British politics from Steve Richards, broadcaster, journalist, and author of The Prime Ministers We Never Had.
Every few weeks in British politics, a columnist will reach for the word ‘unprecedented’ as a cabinet minister resigns or yet another inquiry is called. We have become so accustomed to turmoil that it is impossible to take a breath and see where we are headed. In this magisterial history, respected broadcaster and journalist Steve Richards puts the recent chaos into context and takes a step back to explore ten critical moments that have shaped modern Britain.
From the Suez Crisis of 1956 to the Covid-19 pandemic, from 1945 to Thatcher, Richards argues that it is only with distance that we can perceive the tectonic plates shifting – and events that may seem earth-shattering in the moment might be a passing tremor with the perspective of history.
With his trademark insight, forged over several decades as one of the UK’s foremost political commentators, Richards blends anecdote and analysis to explore the biggest events in British political history. A must-read for anyone seeking to understand our nation, this landmark work is enlightening and entertaining in equal measure.
'Through wonderful vignettes, Richards offers a masterful, clear-eyed and, above all, entertaining history of British politics' – Will Hutton, Observer columnist
'An engaging canter through postwar Britain . . . shaped by a lifetime of reading' – Prospect
Critics Review
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An engaging canter through postwar Britain . . . shaped by a lifetime of reading
Prospect
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A wonderful book to savour. Only Richards can take you on a journey that flies so gracefully above the hurly-burly of politics and explain what’s actually going on
Isabel Hardman, author of Why We Get the Wrong Politicians
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A pure pleasure to read. Richards is the ideal companion for anyone wishing to taste, feel and understand the ebbs and flows of the British experience since the end of the Second World War. The key characters live and breathe in his pages
Peter Hennessy, historian and author of A Duty of Care
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A masterly account. Insightful, thoughtful and above all full of empathy, Turning Points is a work of understanding as well as scholarship
Gavin Esler, journalist and author of How Britain Ends
See more reviews See fewer reviews
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So many turning points, so little real turning. Through wonderful vignettes, Richards offers a masterful, clear-eyed and, above all, entertaining history of British politics. To pilot a better future, we need to learn how not to repeat the mistakes of the past. The book is a lesson in just that
Will Hutton, Observer columnist
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Excellent. Steve Richards is one of the shrewdest political commentators we have
Andrew Marr, author of The Making of Modern Britain, on The Prime Ministers We Never Had
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A better and more thought-provoking book than most of those about prime ministers
Tim Shipman, author of All Out War, on The Prime Ministers We Never Had
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A fascinating and original book that sheds new light on the forces that shape British politics
Iain Dale, broadcaster and commentator, on The Prime Ministers We Never Had
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Details
- Author
- Steve Richards
- Narrator
- Steve Richards
- Duration
- 12 hours 57 minutes
- Release Date
- 21 September 2023
- ISBN
- 9781035015382
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Pan Macmillan
- Genre
- European history, Central / national / federal government policies, Constitution: government and the state, Political leaders and leadership, Political science and theory
Synopsis
The Times Best Politics and Current Affairs Books of the YearAn entertaining and revealing history of modern British politics from Steve Richards, broadcaster, journalist, and author of The Prime Ministers We Never Had.Every few weeks in British politics, a columnist will reach for the word ‘unprecedented’ as a cabinet minister resigns or yet another inquiry is called. We have become so accustomed to turmoil that it is impossible to take a breath and see where we are headed. In this magisterial history, respected broadcaster and journalist Steve Richards puts the recent chaos into context and takes a step back to explore ten critical moments that have shaped modern Britain.From the Suez Crisis of 1956 to the Covid-19 pandemic, from 1945 to Thatcher, Richards argues that it is only with distance that we can perceive the tectonic plates shifting – and events that may seem earth-shattering in the moment might be a passing tremor with the perspective of history.With his trademark insight, forged over several decades as one of the UK’s foremost political commentators, Richards blends anecdote and analysis to explore the biggest events in British political history. A must-read for anyone seeking to understand our nation, this landmark work is enlightening and entertaining in equal measure.'Through wonderful vignettes, Richards offers a masterful, clear-eyed and, above all, entertaining history of British politics' – Will Hutton, Observer columnist'An engaging canter through postwar Britain . . . shaped by a lifetime of reading' – Prospect
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