Books I Do Own (1)
Given my recent post.... here are some books I do own. I live with a first year politics student who asked if I knew anything about the "postwar consesnus" to which I responded, not only with these boks but including these books. and here they are. in all their glory (i received them back tonight andyes, as the title suggests, I amt he owner of them).
Howard Glennerster Socil Policy Since 1945 (2nd Edition) - this I would highly recommend. I defy anyone to speak with authority on social policy since 1945 without having first read it.
Anthony Giddens Beyond Left and Right (garbage book, IMO)
Steven Fielding The Labour Party (slightly better, if not brilliant)
cruddas interview update forthcoming.
Howard Glennerster Socil Policy Since 1945 (2nd Edition) - this I would highly recommend. I defy anyone to speak with authority on social policy since 1945 without having first read it.
Anthony Giddens Beyond Left and Right (garbage book, IMO)
Steven Fielding The Labour Party (slightly better, if not brilliant)
cruddas interview update forthcoming.
posted by Scrybe at 12/19/2006 12:26:00 AM
7 Comments:
The smart-alec response would have been: "what postwar consensus?"
agreed on that one!
Bet you didn't have a 5'4" West Brom-supporting Thatcherite as a lecturer, though...
Anthony Giddens is a shit.
i once remember being on the Central Line and seeing 3 people reading "The Third Way" - a book that introduced me to the true meaning of the word banal
I read 'The Third Way'.
Giddens might be ok at sociology but his political theory - whether or not you agree with it - seemed to be some way below A-Level standard.
'The Third Way' was a mixture of bold statements about the nature of the modern world with no basis in evidence and a raft of criticism of all social democratic politicians for holding positions that many of them had spent their whole careers opposing.
Roy Hattersley's political autobiography 'Who goes home' is a gently engaging ramble through a fair chunk of the 'consensus' period.
And Hugo Young's Thatcher biog 'One of us' is quite good on how it all came crashing down.
Barry Beef and David,
I'm rather fond of a certain Mr Bernard Crick's analysis of the book (to be found in the intro to a book Crick edtied, on citizenship) "It [The TW] is a book full of well-meaning but abstract generalities which curiously, or cautiously feature no reference whatsoever to actual policy."
B4L,
alas I did not - I had Vernon bogdanor as my lecturer and a bright young woman named Crolyn Roman Zozaya whom the political world shall hopefully hear more about/from in years to come. She was completing her DPhil under the supervision of MMichael freeden at the time, and I'd turn up to tutorials early so we could gossip about the Labour party, and who in politics had a "messiah complex"
For any current students unable to turn up tutorials early for whatever reason, I can confirm that the answer to:
"who in politics had a "messiah complex""
is "absolutely everyone without exception"
The only possibly exception being Lembit Opik who, of course, is the Messiah.
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