Introducing the 'Since Attlee & Churchill Book Club'.
Including how to get a FREE copy of Unmasking Our Leaders by Michael Cockerell.
Loving political history usually means loving political books.
Whether it’s the great memoirs (Rab Butler’s Art of the Possible, Roy Jenkins’ Life at the Centre), definitive biographies (Charles Moore’s Thatcher epics, Alistair Horne’s two-volume Macmillan), or the more general political histories of Dominic Sandbrook, Andrew Marr, Alwyn Turner or others: if you’re subscribed to this Substack, I’m willing to bet you’ve got political books on your shelf.
I want ‘Since Attlee & Churchill’ to be an opportunity to share this common love of political books - from the still revered classics to the best-selling recent books, but perhaps most of all the forgotten or easily overlooked books still worthy of our time.
Here’s how it will work:
Every six weeks or so I’ll select a political book I’ve read and loved - and that I think you’ll love, too.
I’ll recommend the best places to get a copy of the book at the lowest price.
I’ll also share some of my favourite videos, clips or articles which relate to the book.
And host an online book club meeting to discuss the contents and lessons of the book - featuring the occasional special guest.
That’s the idea - and here’s the first book: Michael Cockerell’s Unmasking our Leaders
I recently read, and really liked, Cockerell’s memoir of political documentary-making. It‘s such a readable book, full of nuggets about Macmillan, Wilson, Heath, Thatcher, Blair, Johnson and others that only Cockerell would know, including:
How Harold Macmillan became the first PM to create ‘an assiduously cultivated TV image of a world statesman’
The story of Ted Heath, Enoch Powell, and a very friendly hamster
How Margaret Thatcher felt the day she became Conservative Party leader
The unlikely (even implausible?) plot to bump off one of Harold Wilson’s closest advisers
Plus Cockerell’s unique recollections from his decades of documentary-making, including landmark programmes on Ted Heath, Roy Jenkins, Barbara Castle, Enoch Powell, Boris Johnson, Alan Clark and more.
That’s why I’ve decided to make it the first book for the 'Since Attlee & Churchill Book Club’. But more than that, to mark this first book selection, I’ve decided to give a free copy to everybody who takes up a paid subscription to this Substack.
Here’s how to get your copy:
Take out a subscription to this Substack. You can do so by clicking the button below.
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