Benjamin Disraeli was the most gifted parliamentarian of the nineteenth century. A superb orator, writer and wit, he twice rose to become Prime Minister, dazzling many with his famous epigrams along the way. But how much do we really know about the man behind the words? How did this bankrupt Jewish school dropout and trashy novelist reach the top of the Victorian Conservative Party? And why does his reputation continue to have such a hold over British politics today? In this engaging reassessment, Douglas Hurd and Edward Young explore the paradoxes at the centre of Disraeli's 'two lives': a dandy and gambler on the one hand, a devoted servant and favourite Prime Minister of the Queen on the other. A passionately ambitious politician, he intrigued and manoeuvred with unmatched skill to get to - in his own words - 'the top of the greasy pole', but he also developed a set of ideas to which he was devoted. His political achievements are never quite what they seem: he despised the idea of a more classless society, he never used the phrase 'One Nation', and although he passed the Second Reform Act he was no believer in democracy. By stripping away the many myths which surround his career, Douglas Hurd and Edward Young bring alive the true genius of Disraeli in this wonderfully entertaining exploration of his life.

Disraeli: or, The Two Lives

History

Edward Young

Douglas Hurd

Europe

Weidenfeld&Nicolson

Image in the Water

<p>After a narrow Labour Party victory that is dependent on Scottish Labour votes, the young, ambitious and right-wing Alcester sweeps in as Tory leader of the opposition. He has married the previous Prime Minister's daughter, and when their baby boy is kidnapped in mysterious circumstances it leads to an upsurge of support for the bright new Party leader. Alcester redoubles his campaign to throw the Scots out of the UK and in parallel the SLA bid for independence - there is violence throughout the cities of Scotland. As the situation gets out of hand, the Prime Minister announces a referendum in favour of the Union and UK membership of the EU as the only way to check his ruthless young rival...</p>

Literature & Fiction

Contemporary

Little,Brown

Sir James Percival, a cool, world-weary veteran of Tory politics, finds himself with a small but workable majority after 7 years of Labour rule and might be forgiven for looking forward to a quiet life. But life, especially in politics, isn't like that. His 2nd wife Helena & disreputable son Antony don't get on & the move to No.10 leads to flare-ups that can't be kept private. The Cabinet are soon at odds over Ireland where a new wave of violence has crested out of a calm sea. Popular, brilliant Jeremy Cornwall, young rogue elephant of the Toryies, exploits the opportunity with a crusade to Bring the Boys Home. The Government's attempt to counter-attack is disastrously betrayed by someone inside No.10. Suddenly in a matter of weeks the government is fighting for its life & the PM has sinister information that his own may be at short call. How these events themselves with the personal relationships of the PM's immediate circle, how people in a tight corner discover qualities they were never suspected of, how the sheer pace of events takes charge, how politics is the most addictive of all drugs, Douglas Hurd shows with all the deceptively easy mastery of the real professional.

Vote to Kill

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Little Brown Pod

A copy that has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.\nAn ambitious Conservative Junior Minister, Edward Dunsford, seems to be doing all the right things in his bid to become Foreign Secretary. Until, that is, a moment's sentimental weakness precipitates his career into chaos, his party into crisis and his own marriage onto the rocks. 'So skilfully do Hurd and Lamport expose Whitehall's nerve-ends that their dissection reveals more of the system's internal workings than all the outpourings of the political researchers thick on the Westminster beat' - Sunday Times

The Palace of Enchantments

Stephen Lamport

Time Warner Paperbacks*

<p>Benjamin Disraeli is one of the most fascinating men of the 19th century. A superb politician, orator, writer and wit, he was the most gifted parliamentarian of his time, who rose to become Prime Minister - twice. Yet Disraeli had never intended to be a politician: his early life was led in pursuit of pleasure as he struggled to find an occupation that would best suit his energy, keen intelligence, wit and insatiable appetite for public attention. Bringing together the personal and political, Douglas Hurd and Edward Young provide a definitive account of an exceptional life.</p>

Disraeli

Biographies & Memoirs

Historical

Orion Publishing Co

Hurd traces the search for peace back to the Treaty of Vienna in 1815, when Napoleon s attempt to create an imperial hegemony threatened the rest of Europe. He focuses on 4 key events -- the Congress of Vienna, the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, the Yalta settlement of 1945, & the collapse of Communism -- to demonstrate how the diplomatic realism that kept Europe at peace for a century was destroyed by both American idealism at the end of the WW1 & the rise of Nazism, Fascism & Marxism. Civil war, with its undercurrents of political genocide & ethnic violence, is now the issue Western governments must confront. Made into a major BBC TV series. Illustrations.

Search for Peace: A Century of Peace Diplomacy

Politics & Social Sciences

Politics & Government

Little,Brown & Co

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Books by Douglas Hurd