ANTHONY SELDON
Political biographer and historian Anthony Seldon highlights five inspiring works from his collection, with Judith Spelman
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Sir Anthony Seldon is vice-chancellor of the University of Buckingham and former Master of Wellington College. He is a political historian and an outspoken commentator on politics and education. His books include biographies of the last five British Prime Ministers, from Margaret Thatcher to David Cameron and he has written or edited more than forty books on contemporary history, politics and education. The co-founder and first director of the Centre for Contemporary History, he is also co- founded the Action for Happiness and is a governor of the Royal Shakespeare Company. He received his knighthood in the 2014 Birthday Honours for services to education and modern political history.
THAMES: SACRED RIVER
Peter Ackroyd
A biography of the river Thames, the book explores its history from prehistoric times to the present day. It covers everything from the fishes that swim in the river and the boats that ply its surface; about floods and tides; hauntings and suicides; miasmas and malaria; locks, weirs and embankments; bridges, docks and palaces. I adore those places where water and land meet, which is where life and death seem to connect. I am never happier than when by rivers, lakes and the sea. The River Thames is the artery along which much of British history has flowed, as has my own life, and I love walking along it. I carried Ackroyd’s delightful book when walking the entire length, partly with my son Adam and partly with parents and friends from Wellington.