Brief Lives

by W.F. Deedes

In this fascinating and eclectic selection of biographical sketches, Bill Deedes remembers some of the key figures of the twentieth century. Political heavyweights such as Ramsay MacDonald, Stanley Baldwin and Anthony Eden are reassessed and reevalued, while record breakers such as Sir Edmund Hillary and Roger Bannister are shown to be far more than just their achievements. Deedes additionally looks at the lives of Imelda Marcos, Helen Suzman, Ian Smith, and more.

240 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2004

About the author

William Francis "Bill" Deedes, Baron Deedes, KBE, MC, PC, DL (1 June 1913 – 17 August 2007) was a British Conservative Party politician, army officer and journalist; he is to date the only person in Britain to have been both a member of the Cabinet and the editor of a major daily newspaper, The Daily Telegraph.

Satirical magazine Private Eye's "Dear Bill" spoof letters from Denis Thatcher, published throughout Maragaret Thatcher's years as Prime Minister, were assumed to be addressed to Deedes. The Eye also based its long-running editorial comment, "Shome mishtake shurely?", on Deedes' distinctive slur.

According to many sources, Deedes was the journalist used by Evelyn Waugh as the model and inspiration for the hapless William Boot, protagonist of the satirical novel Scoop.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Deedes

Reviews

[Ben Monro-Davies · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's nothing better than finding a book somewhere on a shelf that you'd forgotten you ever had - and devouring it. These are a selection of biographies of people Bill Deedes met. As history they are hopelessly flawed. His generosity towards Rhodesian leader Iain Smith ages badly. But that's not what they claim to be. Instead they are one man's impression of a gallery of characters he stumbled across as a cabinet rank politician and editor of a national newspaper. And as that - you perhaps learn more about why Oswald Moseley or Princess Diana held so much away that from any academic study.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining and always well written. Bill Deedes was a Fleet Street fixture for decades, who also sat as an MP and served as a minister. This is a blend of personal recollection and chronological, or biographical account. The judgments are measured and fairly reliable, each pen picture giving a portrait of the person. Bill says that war service gave men a good grounding in how to judge others, citing Denis Thatcher as someone who could always pick a 'wrong 'un'. There are a few wrong 'uns here, but skilfully portrayed with some sympathy. His non-politicals are good: Noel Coward, Montgomery, Muggeridge. Satisfying read.

[Jo Bo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book mainly brief lives about politics