Simon Heffer
A Grocer’s Life
Edward Heath: The Authorised Biography
By Philip Ziegler
HarperPress 654pp £25
No one can deny that Sir Edward Heath was a considerable figure in British politics during the last century. One can, and probably should, deny that there is any appetite to read more about him. Philip Ziegler, a historian of repute who has dealt with King Edward VIII and Earl Mountbatten of Burma, seems at first glance to be insufficiently rough trade to get mixed up with a man who was not merely one of the worst prime ministers of modern times, but who also took to his grave in 2005 a reputation for being rude, selfish and immersed in a thirty-year sulk. How could one bear to be the official biographer of such a man? Ziegler, however, wrote a biography of Harold Wilson, so he has form for such things; and when he wrote his life of Mountbatten he had to place a sign on his writing-table reminding himself that, ultimately, the vain old intriguer was ‘a great man’. This track record of masochism is almost certainly the preparation one needs to deal on behalf of posterity with Ted Heath.
Ziegler’s is the authorised biography, as both the dust-wrapper and the title page inform us. It also displays an endorsement from Lord Armstrong, the former Cabinet Secretary who, while working his own way up Whitehall’s greasy pole, was Heath’s private secretary. ‘Brilliantly evokes the dramas of the 1970s,
Sign Up to our newsletter
Receive free articles, highlights from the archive, news, details of prizes, and much more.@Lit_Review
Follow Literary Review on Twitter
Twitter Feed
Are iPhones ruining children's lives? A prominent American psychologist thinks so.
@tiffanyjenkins is not so sure:
Tiffany Jenkins - The Smartphone Pandemic
Tiffany Jenkins: The Smartphone Pandemic - The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an...
literaryreview.co.uk
India's 'festival of democracy', or general election, begins next month. Like every good festival, it looks likely to have its fair share of murders and arrests.
@OwenBennettJon probes the state of democracy in India:
Owen Bennett-Jones - New Delhi Confidential
Owen Bennett-Jones: New Delhi Confidential - The Incarcerations: BK-16 and the Search for Democracy in India by Alpa Shah
literaryreview.co.uk
Where is the world's newest narcostate and why is it thriving?
@AdamBrookesWord investigates Asia's meth mecca.
Adam Brookes - Meth Comes to Myanmar
Adam Brookes: Meth Comes to Myanmar - Narcotopia: In Search of the Asian Drug Cartel That Outwitted the CIA by Patrick Winn
literaryreview.co.uk