The Prime Minister - by Peter Hennessy (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Analyzing the special chemistry of life in Number 10 Downing Street, Peter Hennessy scrutinizes what the Prime Minister actually does and the way that Cabinet government is run. He draws on unprecedented access to many of the leading politicians and also recently declassified, electrifying archival material. He illuminates Prime Ministerial attitudes towards, and authority over, such topics as nuclear weapons policy, the planning and waging of war, and foreign crises from Suez to the Falklands. He concludes with controversial assessments of each Prime Minister's performance and outlines a new profile of the premiership for the 4th century.

Review Quotes

"...a grand, lively, leisurely, and provocative study of the prime minister's office and its holders..." --Jerry H. Brookshire, Albion

"An entertaining and fiercely researched account by the leading authority on British executive government." --The Economist

"One of the most penetrating and entertaining political books of the year." --The Times, London

"...the authoritative administrative history of the postwar British premiership." --Publishers Weekly

"This study of the office of prime minister ... supersedes everything else written on the subject." --The Observer

About the Author

Peter Hennessy is an award winning author of numerous books. His most recent is Canada's Big House.