Michael Foot was a longtime power in the UK Labour Party (leading the party in the early 1980s), and a longtime leader in Socialist thought (among other things, being the editor of Tribune, a leading Socialist weekly). So he is, in one sense, a logical man to write a biography of Aneurin Bevan, the standout Labour Party figure of the 1940s and 1950s. The thing is, of course, that in spite of what Foot says, it's not really an unbiased look, since Foot clearly loved Bevan, and indeed Foot pops in and out of the narrative, especially toward the later half of this book, which deals with Bevan's career during a period of Labour party dominance (1945-1951), then turmoil (1951-1960). Even two of Bevan's more notorious ventures, such as his labeling of the Conservatives as "vermin" and a comment about needing the H-Bomb, are more or less handled delicately. Hugh Gaitskell (Clement Attlee's successor as Labour Party leader) comes in for some very rough treatment, and Herbert Morrisson, not much better; both were, of course, leaders of the right wing of the Labour Party. One probably needs a scorecard going into the book to catch some of Foot's feelings toward the main characters. There's also a question of Foot brushing off as a fabrication the famous story about Bevan and two colleagues being drunk at a conference in Venice -- there's actually some significant dispute about it, based on statements made (or allegedly made) by one of the parties in question. Read with caution -- though the prose is mostly entertaining, except where Foot drones on with extended quotes. ( )

Bought at the Methodist Book Sale 28 Feb 2009

An excellent biography; Foot writes extremely well with a touch of the Andrew Marr about his style (obviously the influence would have run the other way really) and, although it is admiring, with Foot admitting to being a hero-worshipper, it's not hagiographical. Fascinating background detail about the strikes and WW2 makes this required reading, and I'm already searching for Vol 2! ( )