A review by mgerboc
Clement Attlee: The Man Who Made Modern Britain by John Bew

5.0

For anyone interested in the practical implementation of Left ideology, modern history, or politics, this is a must read. Clement Attlee is an example of a lifetime dedicated to social and economic justice. He, through years of steady work, consensus building, and untouchable integrity, built national healthcare in the U.K., ended the British Empire, and created the modern welfare state. And did this all quietly, without ever building a real power base or anything even close to the cults of personality surrounding others like Churchill and Stalin in that era. This is a political and historical biography that hits home for me, as someone working for ten years now in the American Labor Movement. It's not easy, the personalities involved are difficult to deal with, and there's a constant temptation to self aggrandize or overdramatize. Attlee is the perfect antidote to this, and this biography will certainly have a lasting impact on me and my own work.