Harold Wilson (1993): 'Ziegler is technically very impressive. His ability to drive a narrative along at a spanking pace while weaving in brief, balancing judgments on Wilson's performance and always providing enough (but not too much) explanatory material ! is very professional.' Roy Jenkins, Observer 'Ziegler's particular strength lies in his understanding of the complex character, psychology and lifestyle of Harold Wilson ! This admirable and entertaining study captures the feel of Wilson and his entourage far better than any other I have read.' John Torode, Independent Harold Wilson (1993): 'Balanced, comprehensive, perceptive and elegantly expressed.' Roy Hattersley, Sunday Times 'Skilful and highly enjoyable.' Ben Pimlott, Independent on Sunday 'Nicely proportioned and elegantly paced ! He displays an admirable independence of judgment and a dispassionate, if never discourteous, tone of voice ! It is at the human level that Philip Ziegler's biography triumphantly succeeds ! it is hard to think of a better or more balanced introduction to a political saga that for nearly half the population already belongs to the realm of battles long ago.' Anthony Howard, TLS

Philip Ziegler was born in 1929 and educated at Eton and New College, Oxford, where he gained first class honours in Jurisprudence. He then joined the Diplomatic Service and served in Vientiane, Paris, Pretoria and Bogota before joining the publishers William Collins, where he was editorial director for fifteen years. His many books include biographies of William IV, Lady Diana Cooper, Louis Mountbatten and Harold Wilson, as well as the classic history of the Black Death.