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morethanmylupus's review
informative
slow-paced
3.0
This was an incisive, if rather clinical, book that tells the story of Aneurin Bevan and his political achievements - namely, the creation of the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK. As someone with a public health background, the lack of a national health service in the USA has long been of concern to me. Particularly as I live with an autoimmune disorder and several other conditions. It's frustratingly difficult to access care, navigate the system, and watch the bill numbers tick up. Ultimately, this was interesting but gave me little hope that the USA will catch up with other nations in this regard. History will not look kindly on our failures to care for our own people, but it was inspiring to see how it was managed elsewhere.
traceyyoung's review
challenging
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
2.75
I knew nothing about NYE Bevan other than the NHS going into this book and found it informative and interesting. I was interested in learning about politics in general during and following WWII and the passion NYE brought to politics. At the same time he didn’t seem an easy man to get along with, he had strong beliefs. I’m glad I read it and may find out more about other politicians during the time.
columboman_93's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
mmf1889's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars rounded up.
This is a good, balanced and empirical study of one of Britain's greatest parliamentarians. At times, however, it is almost too balanced and too empirical - I can't help but feel that a biography of someone like Bevan needs a bit more life, a bit more love or a bit more hate. Perhaps, this is just me comparing it with Michael Foot's lyrical and, at times, hagiographic, two volume biography, but I think that's only natural [b:Aneurin Bevan. Vol 1: 1897-1945|1167962|Aneurin Bevan. Vol 1 1897-1945|Michael Foot|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1423664715s/1167962.jpg|23897756][b:Aneurin Bevan, Vol 2: 1945-1960|15719128|Aneurin Bevan, Vol 2 1945-1960|Michael Foot|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1483802871s/15719128.jpg|1155666].
Coming in around 1000 pages shorter than Foot's biographies, this is a much more focused and easily digestible study. It focuses (as the title says) on Bevan's political life, from his introduction in local politics in the early 1920s where he held essentially syndicalist views, to his death in 1960, by which point he was a committed and at times conciliatory parliamentarian. There are little tidbits of gossip contained in this volume too and Thomas-Symonds is more willing than Bevan's close friend Foot to question some of Bevan's actions away from politics.
Through Thomas-Symonds' tracing of Nye Bevan's political life he also presents a clear history of the Labour Party itself - in particular, the section on the 1945-51 government is very good and Thomas-Symonds' analysis of Attlee's role is useful . Unlike Foot, Thomas-Symonds was not a contemporary of the political characters that featured in Bevan's life and he is able to judge them more objectively than Foot (if that's your thing).
This is a good historical biography. Unlike Foot's volumes there is a distance from the subject - both personally and in years- and this enables Thomas-Symonds to write an objective and focused study of Bevan. At times though I did crave some of the warmth, passion and life of Foot's volumes. As such, Nye: The Political Life of Aneurin Bevan is a valuable biography and a helpful aid to understanding Bevan's politics and his career, but to bring Bevan's character to life, Foot's volumes are insurmountable. Read both.
This is a good, balanced and empirical study of one of Britain's greatest parliamentarians. At times, however, it is almost too balanced and too empirical - I can't help but feel that a biography of someone like Bevan needs a bit more life, a bit more love or a bit more hate. Perhaps, this is just me comparing it with Michael Foot's lyrical and, at times, hagiographic, two volume biography, but I think that's only natural [b:Aneurin Bevan. Vol 1: 1897-1945|1167962|Aneurin Bevan. Vol 1 1897-1945|Michael Foot|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1423664715s/1167962.jpg|23897756][b:Aneurin Bevan, Vol 2: 1945-1960|15719128|Aneurin Bevan, Vol 2 1945-1960|Michael Foot|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1483802871s/15719128.jpg|1155666].
Coming in around 1000 pages shorter than Foot's biographies, this is a much more focused and easily digestible study. It focuses (as the title says) on Bevan's political life, from his introduction in local politics in the early 1920s where he held essentially syndicalist views, to his death in 1960, by which point he was a committed and at times conciliatory parliamentarian. There are little tidbits of gossip contained in this volume too and Thomas-Symonds is more willing than Bevan's close friend Foot to question some of Bevan's actions away from politics.
Through Thomas-Symonds' tracing of Nye Bevan's political life he also presents a clear history of the Labour Party itself - in particular, the section on the 1945-51 government is very good and Thomas-Symonds' analysis of Attlee's role is useful . Unlike Foot, Thomas-Symonds was not a contemporary of the political characters that featured in Bevan's life and he is able to judge them more objectively than Foot (if that's your thing).
This is a good historical biography. Unlike Foot's volumes there is a distance from the subject - both personally and in years- and this enables Thomas-Symonds to write an objective and focused study of Bevan. At times though I did crave some of the warmth, passion and life of Foot's volumes. As such, Nye: The Political Life of Aneurin Bevan is a valuable biography and a helpful aid to understanding Bevan's politics and his career, but to bring Bevan's character to life, Foot's volumes are insurmountable. Read both.