The Benn Tapes 1

Late each night for over 25 years, the Labour MP and former Secretary of State Tony Benn sat alone and dictated onto tape his account of the daily events at the heart of government. Here, in the second highly acclaimed Radio 4 series, he reveals what he discovered from his scrutiny of the nuclear industry and why he now believes nuclear power is unsafe.

Tony Benn's diaries began in 1940, and have been compared to those of Pepys in their detail, scope, and accuracy. This volume brings them right up to date, covering the Gulf War, the rise of New Labour, international repercussions of American foreign policy, and reactions against it.

This abridged audio edition of the Diaries, read by the author, conveys even more directly than the Diaries themselves the achievements, conflicts, and dramatic events in a unique political life.

Shortlisted for the Channel 4 Political Book Award, 2007.
When Tony Benn left Parliament after 51 years he quoted his wife Caroline's remark that now he would have "more time for politics". And so this has proved: in the first seven years of this century he has helped reinvigorate national debate through public meetings, mass campaigns, and appearances in the media, passionately bringing moral and political issues to wide audiences. And throughout, as ever, he has been keeping his diaries.

Born into a family with a strong, radical dissenting tradition in which enterprise and public service were combined, Tony Benn was taught to believe that the greatest sins in life was to waste time and money.

Shortlisted for the Channel 4 Political Book Award, 2007.
Longlisted for the Audiobook Download of the Year, 2007.
The Blair Years is the most compelling and revealing account of contemporary politics you will ever hear. Taken from Alastair Campbell's daily diaries, these audio extracts chart the rise of New Labour and the tumultuous years of Tony Blair's leadership, providing the first important record of a remarkable decade in our national life.

After he announced his retirement to 'spend more time with politics', much-loved parliamentarian Tony Benn brought his unmistakable presence to the stage in a sell-out 'Evening with' event. His only props: a flask of tea, some rubbed tobacco, and his trademark pipe.... An Audience with Tony Benn is a mix of politics, opinion, and debate as the man himself explores issues of today spiced with memories of the past. He then fields questions from a live audience, answered with his usual mixture of insight, analysis, and piercing wit.

This was Alan Clark’s first volume of diaries and the only one that he recorded. As such it is a unique and historical record and reminder of the man and his work. To hear Alan Clark reading the book in his marvelously rich voice adds immeasurably to the pleasure of these informative and entertaining diaries. The recording covers two Parliaments and constitutes the most outspoken and revealing account of British politics ever written.

The witty, incisive and frank memoir of the best-selling author of The Victorians, Jeremy Paxman, whose career at the BBC included 25 years as the uncompromising presenter of Newsnight. Covering insights on politicians of every stamp over the last half century, reporting from war zones, the state of the BBC, the role of journalism in our political system and much more, Jeremy Paxman's long-awaited and candid memoir is packed with opinions and good humour on every page.

A newly edited, single-volume commemorative edition of The Path to Power and The Downing Street Years; this is Margaret Thatcher in her own words. Combining her memoirs The Path to Power and The Downing Street Years, this definitive account of Margaret Thatcher’s life is published as a one-volume commemorative edition for the first time. Margaret Thatcher was the towering figure of late-20th-century British politics. Now, following her death, in 2013, this is the story of her remarkable life, in her own words.

The relationship between those who wield power and those whose job it is to tell us what they are doing has always been fraught with tension. Politicians now expect to be on camera and facing aggressive questions from the moment they open their front door to the moment they return home at night. Everything they say and do is instantly broadcast and dissected on 24-hour news channels, blogs, and Twitter. It was not always this way. Live from Downing Street takes us on an absorbing journey through the hard-fought battles for the right to tell the public about the decisions taken on their behalf.

Ken Clarke needs no introduction. One of the genuine 'Big Beasts' of the political scene, during his 46 years as the Member of Parliament for Rushcliffe in Nottinghamshire he has been at the very heart of government under three prime ministers. He is a political obsessive with a personal hinterland, as well known as a Tory Wet with Europhile views as for his love of cricket, Nottingham Forest Football Club and jazz.

Peter Mandelson is one of the most influential politicians of modern times. The Third Man is his story – of a life played out in the backroom and then on the frontline of the Labour Party during its unprecedented three terms in government.

Much of the book is devoted to the defining political relationships of Peter Mandelson’s life – with Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. Charting what he terms the ‘soap-opera’ years of the Labour government, his book is certain to ruffle many feathers.

Clement Attlee was the Labour prime minister who presided over Britain's radical postwar government, delivering the end of the empire in India, the foundation of the NHS and Britain's place in NATO. Called 'a sheep in sheep's clothing', his reputation has long been that of an unassuming character in the shadow of Churchill. But as John Bew's revelatory biography shows, Attlee was not only a hero of his age but an emblem of it, and his life tells the story of how Britain changed over the 20th century.

The first five volumes from the landmark BBC radio series This Sceptred Isle. Christopher Lee's epic history tells the story of Britain from the Romans to the death of Victoria. This collection includes the original first five volumes.