In the Corridors of Power - An Autobiography

David Lipsey

Summary

A political adviser to the formidably intellectual Foreign Secretary Tony Crosland and to Prime Minister Jim Callaghan, and a senior journalist at The Times and The Economist, David Lipsey has been close to the heart of government for more than four decades. Providing a unique perspective on a period of great economic and political upheaval, In the Corridors of Power details such flashpoints as the 1976-77 IMF crisis, which saw Britain under a divided government hovering on the edge of national bankruptcy, and reveals why Jim Callaghan ducked an election in 1978 - and led Labour to disastrous defeat in 1979. But Lipsey is no one-dimensional policy nerd. Here we see a man who moves easily from the rarefied atmosphere at the core of government to the more down-to-earth pleasures of the greyhound track and the racecourse betting ring, while his enthusiasm for harness racing is such that he has regularly competed in the sport. It is often said that the very best political books come from those who observe from behind the scenes, rather than from the politicians in the front line. Here is a classic of the genre.

Available since: 06/28/2013.

Other books that might interest you

Jeremy Corbyn and the Strange...

Francis Beckett, Mark Seddon

Post-war Labour England wasn't a bad place to live, but after Labour's 2015 election defeat, the prospect of a healthier, happier and fairer country seemed more remote than ever.
Who would have predicted that career backbencher and serial rebel Jeremy Corbyn would be the one to breathe new life into a near moribund Labour Party? Defying all odds, and most commentators and pollsters, Labour staged a remarkable comeback at the 2017 election.
Love him or loathe him – and most people feel one way or the other – Corbyn represents a new hope, which everyone believed had been extinguished by the bitter hostility of the Thatcher era and the grubby triangulations of the Blair years.
Almost uniquely amongst European social democratic parties, Corbyn's party has rallied. It has turned its back on New Labour, membership is thriving and, at long last, the party is appealing to the young. Labour England wasn't dead – it had merely been sleeping.
In Jeremy Corbyn and the Strange Rebirth of Labour England, Francis Beckett and Mark Seddon offer an alternative and refreshing take on the sad fate of Labour England over the past four decades. They then turn their attention to the extraordinary reversal of fortunes of the Corbyn years, and to what a new Labour England might look like – with or without Corbyn.

Show book

Stones Touring Party - A Journey...

Robert Greenfield

A journalist who rode along with the Rolling Stones on their 1972 US tour chronicles what he witnessed on and off the stage.

The Rolling Stones’ 1972 tour of the United States was perhaps their best—and certainly most notorious—ever. Their previous visit in 1969 had ended in the nightmare of Altamont; now, three years later, they had just recorded their two finest albums, Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main Street, and were musically in their prime—if also personally at their most dissolute and debauched.

Robert Greenfield, one of America’s finest writers, went along for the ride and came back with a riveting account of high living, excess and rock & roll fury, from the Playboy Mansion to the jail cells of Rhode Island. This was an extended tour Party, capital P, to which all America’s hip, rich and glitzy were invited, from Truman Capote to Stevie Wonder, Annie Liebowitz to Hugh Hefner. The result has been acclaimed as one of the all-time classic music books.

Previously published as STP: A Journey Through America with the Rolling Stones, this reissue uses the original title and features a new introduction by the author.

Praise for Stone’s Touring Party

“A compelling account of the Stones trashing America during 1972. . . . Greenfield was allowed the kind of access journalists can only dream of today.” —The Times (UK)

“One of the greatest rock books ever written.” —GQ

“Exceptionally well-written and highly readable.” —Jerry Hopkins, Los Angeles Times

“Unsparing in its picture of the calculation and lyrical decadence behind the tour.” —John Rockwell, New York Times

“Skip this review and rush right down to your local bookstore and get a copy . . . reads like the best fiction.” —Ed War, Creem

Show book

Pot Shards - Fragments of a Life...

Donald P. Gregg

“Donald Gregg’s career . . . would make a great spy novel. This autobiography makes an even better book.” —Tim Weiner, Pulitzer Prize–winning reporter and bestselling author of Enemies

Pot Shards is a memoir, based on the author’s unforgettable experiences. He served as a CIA agent on the island of Saipan, during ten years in Japan, and a tour in Burma. He then spent four years tied up in the Vietnam War, two tours in Korea, the second time as ambassador, and spent ten years in the White House, where he worked for Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and George H. W. Bush.

“Don Gregg is that authentic and admirable thing: a great American. He spent most of his life serving his country: in the CIA, at the White House and as a US ambassador. He has stories to tell, many of them gripping, and they are beautifully and movingly recollected here in this memoir of a splendid life.” —Christopher Buckley

“A personal witness to decades of largely hidden intelligence and diplomatic history, Donald Gregg recounts his unlikely and amazing career as a CIA officer, national security advisor, and US diplomat. His adventures and insider knowledge of US relations with East Asian nations over many decades make for a lively narrative, entertaining for the general reader and useful for serious scholars alike. Through it all, Ambassador Gregg expresses a natural warmth and concern for humanity that makes his story a truly personal journey.” —Nicholas Dujmovic, PhD, CIA Staff Historian, Center for the Study of Intelligence

Show book

Remembering The Legend Ginger...

Geoffrey Giuliano

Ginger Baker was, without question, the foremost drummer of his generation, having formed supergroups Cream and Blind Faith. In the early 1990s, author Geoffrey Giuliano received a call from Baker asking if he would be interested in writing his autobiography. From there, a turbulent, yet fruitful relationship ensued between the two. While the book they wrote together has yet to be published, here, at last, are the exclusive, in-depth, upfront, and highly personal conversations the two unlikely friends recorded in a Clarence, New York studio all those years ago. Ginger speaks his mind, holding forth on the particulars of his amazing life and work and in so doing reveals something he has always ardently tried to hide - that he is really a lovely, caring, sensitive man. For everyone interested in the history, art, and cultural significance of the popular music of the 20th century, this bold series is a once in a lifetime, must have audio event. Perfect for universities and all educational media as well as music fans everywhere, Contains adult language and mature themes. Not recommended for children. Parental warning - graphic content. Hosted, narrated and authored by Geoffrey Giuliano Produced by Fred Betschen in New YorkEdited and mixed by Macc Kay in BangkokProject Coordinator Alex Franchi in Milan Icon Executive In Charge Of Production Avalon Giuliano in LondonICON Intern Eden Giuliano in Delhi Special thanks to Glenn Bernardis & Vrnda Devi Music By AudioNautix With Their Kind Permission ©2019 Icon Audio Arts (P)2019 Icon Audio Arts

Show book

Varied Types

G.K Chesterton

Another delightful and sharply pointed excursion into the topics of the day, and of our day as well, with Gilbert Keith Chesterton. Here he uses his wit and mastery of paradox to bring into focus a number of historical persons who in many ways typify the people who presently shape our world and who in their own right have already shaped Western civilization. These reprinted magazine articles are filled with his good-natured wit and devastating ability to use reductio ad absurdum to destroy the popular myths that drive our society at full-speed into, and expose the utter nonsense that underlies, secular humanism. You will come away with yet another new collection of wonderful quotes.(Summary by Ray Clare)

Show book

Bloom - Finding Beauty in the...

Kelle Hampton

There is us. Our Family. We will hold our precious gift and know that we are lucky . . . 
From the outside looking in, Kelle Hampton had the perfect life: a beautiful two-year-old daughter, a loving husband, and a thriving photography career. When she learned she was pregnant with their second child, they were ecstatic. But when their new daughter was placed in her arms in the delivery room, Kelle knew instantly that something was wrong. Nella looked different than her sister, Lainey, had at birth. As her friends and family celebrated, a terrified Kelle was certain that Nella had Down syndrome—a fear her pediatrician soon confirmed. Yet gradually Kelle embraced the realization that she had been chosen to experience an extraordinary and special gift. 
With lyrical prose and gorgeous photography, Bloom takes readers on a wondrous journey through Nella's first year of life—a gripping, hilarious, and intensely poignant trip of transformation in which a mother learns that perfection comes in all different shapes.

Show book