Justin Marozzi

He on Honey-Dew Hath Fed

Kublai Khan: From Xanadu to Superpower

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On a programme on political diarists the other evening on Radio 4, it was remarked that in a century or so people will only know Cabinet ministers like Geoffrey Howe through the prism of Alan Clark’s diaries. The priapic fancier of Margaret Thatcher’s ankles might have been a smaller man politically, but history – through the longevity of his diaries – will judge him a greater man.

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