My Life - Oswald Mosley

 

'I can rember when my husband was more hated in England than Sir Oswald Mosley is today.' So said the wife, not of some British political ogre but of our now widely loved national hero, Sir Winston Churchill. Lady Churchill was pointing as much to the extraordinary twists of twentieth century political life as to the extreme variety of the leaders who have graced it.Adulation, hatred, trust, fear, respect, scorn: the greatest British statesmen have been, since the birth of our democratic system, subject to them all and have each known and endured at different times and to different extremes in our history the sweet and bitter fruits of their calling.Thirty years ago the author of this book was more feared and reviled by many of the British people than any other British politician still alive. Equally there were then, and still are now, others of his countrymen to whom he was and, in a new context, remains a prophet and a leader. What is the truth about this extraordinary man who has made so individual an impact on our history over the past forty years? What kind of man was it who was the first Englishman to run a private army since Cromwell ? In this fascinating and wholly unexpected book Sir Oswald Mosley looks back (with a courage which his friends have always known as typical) on the tumultuous twists of his public life, first as a Conservative after the First World War, then as an Independent and soon as one of the most brilliant young Socialists ever to be a member of the British Labour Party. He recalls the ideas and experience which led him to propose economic reforms nearly a generation ahead of their time and the tragic consequences for himself and for the country of the Labour Party's refusal to listen. He analyses his unbowing determination to start his New Party to break away from the shackles of the old, a lonely decision which, took him inexorably towards the leadership of the Blackshirts and the Fascist party in the thirties. The arguments and crises of our own day stand out in bitter clarity against his story. Was he right then? And was he right about the war? And Europe today? This is a controversial book, provocative and always highly intelligent. Sir Oswald's memoirs will make many readers angry, others think, almost all argue. At a time when contemporary British public life is beset with heavy doubts and self-questionings about the future of our country and government, Sir Oswald has decided to break his silence-with characteristically brilliant timing

Oswald Mosley
Softcover Thomas Nelson 521pp 1970

Near Fine

 

Book Code:  SH1079