Memoirs - Hardcover

Rees-Mogg, William

3.44

9 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0002571838 ISBN 13: 9780002571838

Publisher: HarperPress, 2011

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Former editor of The Times, the late William Rees-Mogg was a pivotal figure of post-war Britain. Here he recounts the remarkable story of his life.

As editor of The Times (his glory years), journalist, commentator, Chairman of the Arts Council, and, later, Chairman of the Broadcasting Standards Council (when he was accused of censorship), the William Rees-Mogg spent his life at the centre of events in politics and journalism.

Often controversial, his strong, fiercely defended opinions went to the heart of the problems of the day. From his famous defence of Mick Jagger on a charge of possessing cannabis, to his recent criticism of the morality behind the war in Kosovo and defence of monetarism, his writing demanded attention, to the point of becoming newsworthy in itself.

He knew the people who shaped our time, from royalty to presidents, business magnates and religious leaders, and his unique insider perspective is here used to great effect, with perceptive, provocative recollections of people such as Rab Butler, Margaret Thatcher, Anthony Eden, Shirley Williams, Roy Jenkins, Robin Day, Rupert Murdoch and many more.

From an early age his life was filled with incident – among the many anecdotes are the stories of the Bristol Blitz; his doomed attempts to enter politics; writing speeches for Anthony Eden during Suez; hiring burglars to uncover corruption in the Met; an eventful stay at Chequers with Harold Wilson; how Rupert Murdoch amused the Queen at lunch; and how Harold Macmillan impressed Ronald Reagan at dinner.

His colourful and illuminating memoirs offer a wonderfully readable life of one of the great characters of the age.

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Review:

‘You couldn’t make it up; or, at least if you tried to, not half as entertainingly’ Guardian

‘What elevates Rees-Moog’s book above the horde is his candour and self-knowledge’ Mail on Sunday

‘The finely written record of an honourable public career’ New Statesman

‘It is only on reading this comprehensive memoir that one becomes aware of how close he was to successive prime ministers and the decision-making process in some of the crises of public life in recent decades’ Country Life

‘Rees-Mogg has a modest, self-deprecatory demeanour that comes through in his Memoirs . . . This book does him credit’ The Times

Synopsis:

William Rees-Mogg is one of the pivotal figures of post-war Britain. In this memoir he recounts the story of a colourful life, and reflects on the key figures and events of his time. As editor of "The Times" (his glory years), journalist, commentator, Chairman of the Arts Council, and, later, Chairman of the Broadcasting Standards Council (when he was accused of censorship), William Rees-Mogg has spent his life at the centre of events in politics and journalism. Often controversial and never dull, he has always had the courage to hold strong, fiercely defended opinions which go to the heart of the problems of the day. From his famous defence of Mick Jagger on a charge of possessing cannabis when he attacked the "primitive" impulse to "break a butterfly on a wheel", to his recent criticism of the morality behind the war in Kosovo, his writing has demanded attention, to the point of becoming newsworthy in itself.

He knew and knows most of the anybodies who were anybody, from royalty to prime ministers, presidents, business magnates and religious leaders, and uses his insider perspective to great effect, with perceptive, sometimes provocative, recollections of people such as Rab Butler, Margaret Thatcher, Rupert Murdoch and many more. From an early age his life was filled with incident - among the many anecdotes are the stories of Noel Coward's goldfish, his failure to inherit #30,000, his near-shooting at Trinity College, Oxford, an eventful stay at Chequers with Harold Wilson, conspiring with Shirley Williams against the Communists, his doomed attempts to enter politics and dinner with Ronald Reagan and Harold Macmillan.

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