Anthony Eden: A Life and Reputation - Hardcover

Dutton, David

3.8

5 ratings by Goodreads

9780340561683: Anthony Eden: A Life and Reputation

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0340561688 ISBN 13: 9780340561683

Publisher: Hodder Arnold, 1996

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As the centenary of his birth approaches, Anthony Eden remains one of the most controversial figures in the political history of 20th-century Britain. Using unpublished archival material, much of it from Eden's own papers, David Dutton seeks to reasses the career of a man who experienced the extremes of political fortune. For much of his life the golden boy of British politics, with a popular appeal that transcended party boundaries, Eden left public life with his reputation for sound judgement and probity sadly tarnished. In this new study the Suez crisis of 1956, which did such lasting damage to Eden's historical reputation, is given due attention in the light of the wealth of detailed studies now available, but it is not allowed to compromise a proper assessment of the full career of a man who was at the heart of British political life for more than two decades. Eden's role in the appeasement of the 1930s is scrutinized, his contribution to wartime diplomacy re-evaluated and new light is thrown on his involvement in postwar issues such as the Cold War and European integration. Neglected areas such as Eden's contribution to domestic politics are also considered.

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Review:

"A more penetrating study, such as this, is overdue and welcome."--The Telegraph"Dutton's work is studiously objective."--The Sunday Telegraph"This is a lucid, challenging and impressive book, which goes straight to the top of the list of books on Eden and British foreign policy."--Literary Review"Dutton and Thorne have both written major books of scholarship which deserve to become standards works."--The Guardian"Here, possibly the 10th, is one of the most enjoyable."--Financial Times"Persuasive."--The Times"The strength of this book is that it cuts through much of the detail of his political career to give us a portrait that balances the light and the shade."--The Express"It is a well written account, displaying a vast knowledge of the documentary sources."--History Today"Highly convincing, as well as consistently interesting"--History Today"It is written with the elegance that its subject deserves and it is an important addition to the growing body of scholarship on a Britisg statesman."--Irish Economic and Social History "A more penetrating study, such as this, is overdue and welcome."--The Telegraph "Dutton's work is studiously objective."--The Sunday Telegraph "This is a lucid, challenging and impressive book, which goes straight to the top of the list of books on Eden and British foreign policy."--Literary Review "Dutton and Thorne have both written major books of scholarship which deserve to become standards works."--The Guardian "Here, possibly the 10th, is one of the most enjoyable."--Financial Times "Persuasive."--The Times "The strength of this book is that it cuts through much of the detail of his political career to give us a portrait that balances the light and the shade."--The Express "It is a well written account, displaying a vast knowledge of the documentary sources."--History Today "Highly convincing, as well as consistently interesting"--History Today "It is written with the elegance that its subject deserves and it is an important addition to the growing body of scholarship on a Britisg statesman."--Irish Economic and Social History "A more penetrating study, such as this, is overdue and welcome."--The Telegraph "Dutton's work is studiously objective."--The Sunday Telegraph "This is a lucid, challenging and impressive book, which goes straight to the top of the list of books on Eden and British foreign policy."--Literary Review "Dutton and Thorne have both written major books of scholarship which deserve to become standards works."--The Guardian "Here, possibly the 10th, is one of the most enjoyable."--Financial Times "Persuasive."--The Times "The strength of this book is that it cuts through much of the detail of his political career to give us a portrait that balances the light and the shade."--The Express "It is a well written account, displaying a vast knowledge of the documentary sources."--History Today "Highly convincing, as well as consistently interesting"--History Today "It is written with the elegance that its subject deserves and it is an important addition to the growing body of scholarship on a Britisg statesman."--Irish Economic and Social History "A more penetrating study, such as this, is overdue and welcome."--The Telegraph"Dutton's work is studiously objective."--The Sunday Telegraph"This is a lucid, challenging and impressive book, which goes straight to the top of the list of books on Eden and British foreign policy."--Literary Review"Dutton and Thorne have both written major books of scholarship which deserve to become standards works."--The Guardian"Here, possibly the 10th, is one of the most enjoyable."--Financial Times"Persuasive."--The Times"The strength of this book is that it cuts through much of the detail of his political career to give us a portrait that balances the light and the shade."--The Express"It is a well written account, displaying a vast knowledge of the documentary sources."--History Today"Highly convincing, as well as consistently interesting"--History Today"It is written with the elegance that its subject deserves and it is an important addition to the growing body of scholarship on a Britisg statesman."--Irish Economic and Social History

From the Back Cover:

Drawing on a mass of unpublished archival material, much of it from Anthony Eden's own papers, David Dutton seeks to reassess the career of a man who experienced the extremes of political fortune. For much of his life the golden boy of British politics with a popular appeal that transcended party boundaries, Eden left public life with his reputation for sound judgement and probity sadly tarnished. The Suez crisis of 1956, which did such lasting damage to Eden's historical reputation, is closely examined but is not allowed to compromise a proper assessment of a man who was at the heart of British political life for more than two decades. Eden's role in some of the key episodes in modern history is searchingly probed: his participation in the appeasement of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy until 1938, when he resigned from Chamberlain's government; his direction in conjunction with Churchill of Britain's wartime diplomacy; his involvement as a key player in the Cold War, in European integration and in postwar domestic policy; and his instigation of the events that culminated in the Suez debacle and his own downfall. Anthony Eden was not an easy man to know, but David Dutton's interpretation of his career transcends the partisanship of writings by his contemporaries or near-contemporaries. He emerges neither as the 'golden boy' of myth nor as a man largely bereft of substance but as a diplomat of high standing, if a dangerously thin-skinned and sometimes inept politician.

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