{"title":"Books by Anthony Seldon","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9781316515327","title":"The Impossible Office?","description":"A Times and Sunday Times Book of the Year. The recent political chaos enfolding Downing Street provides the framing for the extraordinary story of the office of Prime Minister, and how and why it has endured longer than any other democratic political office in world history. Sir Anthony Seldon, historian of Number 10, explores the lives and careers, crises and scandals, and successes and failures of our great Prime Ministers from Robert Walpole to Clement Attlee and Margaret Thatcher, up to the recent churn of Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak.  Seldon discusses which of our PMs have been most effective and why, as well as probing the changing relationship between the Monarchy and the Prime Minister in intimate detail.  A celebration of the humanity, frailty, work and achievements of 57 remarkable individuals who averted revolution and civil war, leading the country through times of peace, crisis and war.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":57685960163701,"sku":"9781009429771","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Hardback","offer_id":43204213440690,"sku":"9781316515327","price":19.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781009429771.jpg?v=1792599220"},{"product_id":"9781838957421","title":"The Path of Peace","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eBlackwell's Non-Fiction Book of the Month\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'\u003c\/b\u003eA \u003cb\u003eformidable achievement\u003c\/b\u003e' \u003cb\u003eRory Stewart\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Thoughtful \u003c\/b\u003e[and]\u003cb\u003e heartfelt' \u003ci\u003eObserver\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Profound \u003c\/b\u003e[and] \u003cb\u003ecompelling\u003c\/b\u003e' \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eSpectator\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'\u003c\/b\u003eA\u003cb\u003e noble \u003c\/b\u003eendeavour\u003cb\u003e' \u003ci\u003eNew Statesman\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWithout a permanent home, a wife or a job, and with no clear sense of where his life was going, Anthony Seldon set out on a 35-day pilgrimage from the French-Swiss border to the English Channel.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe route of his 1,000 kilometre journey was inspired by a young British soldier of the First World War, Alexander Douglas Gillespie, who dreamed of creating a 'Via Sacra' that the men, women and children of Europe could walk to honour the fallen. Tragically, Gillespie was killed in action, his vision forgotten for a hundred years, until a chance discovery in the archive of one of England's oldest schools galvanised Anthony into seeing the Via Sacra permanently established.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTracing the historic route of the Western Front, he traversed some of Europe's most beautiful and evocative scenery, from the Vosges, Argonne and Champagne to the haunting trenches of Arras, the Somme and Ypres. Along the way, he wrestled heat exhaustion, dog bites and blisters as well as a deeper search for inner peace and renewed purpose. Touching on grief, loss and the legacy of war, \u003ci\u003eThe Path of Peace\u003c\/i\u003e is the extraordinary story of Anthony's epic walk, an unforgettable act of remembrance and a triumphant rediscovery of what matters most in life.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA WATERSTONES BEST BOOKS OF 2022 PICK\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'The Western Front Way, an idea that waited 100 years for its moment, is the simplest and fittest memorial yet to the agony of the Great War. Anthony Seldon's account of how he walked it, and what it means to all of us, will be an inspiration to younger generations.' Sebastian Faulks\u003cbr\u003e'A deeply informed meditation on the First World War, an exploration of walking's healing power, a formidable physical achievement... and above all a moving enactment of a modern pilgrimage.' Rory Stewart\u003cbr\u003e'A journey of self-discovery and a pilgrimage of peace... A remarkable book by a remarkable man.' Michael Morpurgo\u003cbr\u003e'An incredible journey that will move and inspire.' Bear Grylls\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43205703368882,"sku":"9781838957421","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781838957421_2bf45a32-1a64-4a43-bc5f-989202fafa5b.jpg?v=1786028451"},{"product_id":"9781805462132","title":"Truss at 10","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e*THE INSTANT #1 \u003ci\u003eSUNDAY TIMES\u003c\/i\u003e BESTSELLER*\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Compulsively readable' \u003ci\u003eThe Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'[A] forensic and eloquent evisceration' \u003ci\u003eIndependent\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'A lively, brief and analytical account of a catastrophe' \u003ci\u003eFinancial Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e'\u003c\/i\u003eIt should come with a trigger warning' PoliticsHome\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLiz Truss's disastrous premiership was the shortest and most chaotic in British history. In the space of just 49 days, Truss attempted to remould the economy, triggered a collapse in the value of Sterling and was forced into a series of embarrassing U-turns that ultimately led to her resignation. The aftershocks of her time in office are still felt today. How did she blow her opportunity so spectacularly?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBased on exclusive interviews with key aides, allies and insiders, bestselling political biographer Anthony Seldon provides a gripping behind-the-scenes work of contemporary history that gives the definitive account of how not to be prime minister.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eNumber 1 Sunday Times Bestseller, 8 September 2024\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":57685690909045,"sku":"9781805462163","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Hardback","offer_id":44583064174770,"sku":"9781805462132","price":22.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781805462163.jpg?v=1792598841"},{"product_id":"9781805464105","title":"The Path of Light","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eThe Path of Peace:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'A formidable achievement' Rory Stewart\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Thoughtful [and] heartfelt' \u003ci\u003eObserver\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Profound [and] compelling' \u003ci\u003eSpectator\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'A noble endeavour' \u003ci\u003eNew Statesman\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn 2021, Anthony Seldon, inspired by a fallen First World War soldier who dreamed of a 'Via Sacra' to commemorate the war dead and stand as a marker for the triumph of peace, set out on a 1,000km walk tracing the historic route of the Western Front. He went on to recount that story in the widely acclaimed \u003ci\u003eThe Path of Peace\u003c\/i\u003e. But there wasn't to be lasting peace, with the continent falling into an even more horrific war two decades later.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eThe Path of Light\u003c\/i\u003e, Seldon sets out to walk a new 1,300 km route from the same starting point at Kilometre Zero to\u003cbr\u003eAuschwitz, discovering in the towns and villages through which he walks stories of women and men who bravely protected the vulnerable and stood up to evil in the face of unimaginable brutality during the Second World War.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs he ruminates on these 'figures of light', whose uplifting stories he encounters along his path, a pattern begins to emerge about how we can draw on their lives to build a better and more peaceful world, never more needed than now, with the ominous and increasing drumbeat of belligerence globally that month by month is the constant backdrop of his walk between 2023 and 2025. It proved a harder book to write than \u003ci\u003eThe Path of Peace\u003c\/i\u003e. But it was a project he knew he had to complete, whatever the cost.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":57685769519477,"sku":"9781805464129","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Hardback","offer_id":55896471372149,"sku":"9781805464105","price":20.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781805464129_f12f56d0-4c9c-4280-b9d7-47c4e3063822.jpg?v=1792598949"},{"product_id":"9780007575534","title":"Cameron at 10","description":"The most intimate account of a serving prime minister ever published, this is the gripping inside story of David Cameron’s government as told by senior figures, including the Prime Minister, George Osborne and Boris Johnson.Spanning the early days of the coalition to a bitterly contested general election, and ending with the astonishing EU Referendum story, ‘Cameron at 10’ tells the full story of a momentous premiership. From riots in London to the withdrawal from Afghanistan to the gambles of two seismic referenda – the youngest prime minister since 1812 faced an exceptionally turbulent period in British politics. With insights into his relationships with EU leaders, the Brexit camp and Barack Obama, this is the essential blueprint for understanding the rise and fall of the Cameron government.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56220708864373,"sku":"9780007575534","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780007575534_237d278c-1771-4555-82c7-cc706831467a.jpg?v=1785658803"},{"product_id":"9781473619449","title":"Beyond Happiness","description":"\u003cp\u003eAs Britain's best-known headmaster, Sir Anthony famously introduced happiness, or well-being, lessons at his school, Wellington College. In 2011, he co-founded Action for Happiness, a body to raise awareness of the discovery of happiness and reduction of depression, whose influence is growing rapidly in Britain and across the world. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn this book Anthony Seldon distinguishes between pleasure, happiness and joy, and offers an original 8-step approach on how to make our lives far more meaningful and rewarding. The pursuit of happiness can all too easily become a trap which seduces us into thinking there is no more to life than being happy. In fact, the author is highly critical of 'positive psychology' and other dominant schools of thought.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn fact, we need to reach beyond this if we are to access the deepest levels of human experience open to us, and find our own unique path in life. The author offers a further 5 steps, which point the way to accessing these deeper levels of experience, which alone result in the joyful life which is our birthright. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eParadoxically, as this book demonstrates, stepping off the happiness treadmill will ultimately make for a happier and more fulfilled life. It is time to go beyond happiness.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56301214269813,"sku":"9781473619449","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781473619449_8c51c3eb-b9cb-4657-ad6d-1a89fb9352cd.jpg?v=1786021179"},{"product_id":"9781838958046","title":"Johnson at 10","description":"After his dramatic rise to power in the summer of 2019 amid the Brexit deadlock, Boris Johnson presided over the most turbulent period of British history in living memory. Beginning with the controversial prorogation of Parliament in August and the historic landslide election victory later that year, Johnson was barely through the door of No. 10 when Britain was engulfed by a series of crises that will define its place in the world for decades to come. From the agonizing upheaval of Brexit and the devastating Covid-19 pandemic to the nerve-shredding crisis in Afghanistan, the outbreak of war in Ukraine and the Partygate scandal, Johnson's government ultimately unraveled after just three years. This gripping behind-the-scenes work of contemporary history maps Johnson's time in power from start to finish and sheds new light on the most divisive premiership, the shockwaves of which are still felt today.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56307519160693,"sku":"9781838958046","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781838958046_e37ed3bb-19ef-4a54-90e3-f6dc4a29c234.jpg?v=1786028470"},{"product_id":"9781800318243","title":"The Fourth Education Revolution Reconsidered","description":"\u003cb\u003eSir Anthony Seldon, the prominent political biographer and leading educationalist, addresses one of the high-stakes issues that will influence our future: the role of artificial intelligence and its impact on education.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe use of AI promises an altogether new way of educating, offering learners from all backgrounds widespread access to personalised tuition and digital educational materials from across the world. Educational institutions across the world have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and many have migrated, at least temporarily, to online platforms. The debate about how to deliver knowledge has never been more relevant.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMany countries have an excellent education system with their schools and universities – excellent, but tailored to the twentieth century. The mass teaching methods of the third revolution era have failed to conquer enduring problems of inequity and lack of individualised learning. AI is disrupting the way we live, work and interact with the environment,  and we cannot stop it changing our schools and universities. But we have time – albeit not for long – to shape this revolution. It will not be a panacea, and if we are not quick, it will start to replace what makes us human – being creative, having beliefs, and loving others.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis book, presented in considerably updated and extended second edition, is a call to educators everywhere to open their eyes to what is coming. If we do so, then the future will be shaped by us for the common interests of humanity – but if we don’t, then it will be imposed, and we will all lose.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e‘This book has the potential to impel change in our education system which is so badly in need of reform.  The new “reconsidered” version in the wake of the COVID pandemic serves to emphasize even more strongly the role AI can play in education and how its use is being accelerated.’\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ci\u003eLord Clement-Jones CBE\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56312930107765,"sku":"9781800318243","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781800318243_f77c1581-b223-48fc-b334-0871bd688cff.jpg?v=1786027077"},{"product_id":"public-schools-and-the-great-war","title":"Public Schools and the Great War","description":"The book examines the impact which the Great War had on the Public Schools and the sacrificial contribution made to the victory which came in 1918. The war consumed about a fifth of all the public schoolboys who fought, while the survivors were scarred by the loss of so many friends. Based largely on source material from school archives and histories, it moves from the naive excitement of the summer of 1914 to the many moving stories that emerge from the carnage of the Western Front. It looks at school life in those war years, boys with their futures on hold and the prospect of death always very close, Headmasters and staff devastated by the loss of so many young lives. About one distinguished Headmaster, who died in January 1919, it was said that ”the War killed him as straightly and surely as if he had fallen at the front\".The book ranges across many topics including the selflessness and pride of Public Schools across the British Empire and in Ireland; the role of the Officers Training Corps in militarising a generation; the letters written from the Front to teachers; the pride taken by schools in the Victoria Crosses etc won by Old Boys; the statistical terms in which the Public Schools contribution can be measured; the ways in which schools commemorated the war, and still do so today. Finally the legacy of the war is examined, both the effect on the schools themselves but also the contribution made by writers and artists to the disillusionment of the inter-war years.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57484270436725,"sku":"9781526739896","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781526739896.jpg?v=1786266324"},{"product_id":"sunak-at-10","title":"Sunak at 10","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe \u003ci\u003eSunday Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestselling author of \u003ci\u003eTruss at 10\u003c\/i\u003e returns with the definitive account of the Conservative Party's collapse and what this means for the future of British politics.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Riveting... This extremely well-sourced account is thorough, judicious and fair-minded' Andrew Rawnsley, \u003ci\u003eObserver\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'A  valuable and insightful account of a period that remains relevant' David Gauke, \u003ci\u003eFinancial Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'The leading authority on our contemporary prime ministers' Dominic Grieve, \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eGuardian\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe 2024 General Election was the Conservatives' worst ever defeat: their lowest vote share in modern history and smallest parliamentary contingent since 1832. As Boris Johnson's crumbling majority turned to rubble and Nigel Farage's Reform marched into the vacuum, a question hung over British politics that would once have seemed\u003cbr\u003eabsurd: is this the end of the Tories as an independent force?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom inheriting Liz Truss's collapsed premiership - the pound in freefall, the bond markets and Conservative Party\u003cbr\u003ein revolt - through the domestic battles over the Rwanda Asylum Plan and the agenda-dominating wars in Ukraine and Gaza, to the crushing 2023 local elections, Sunak's time in Downing Street was one of unrelenting turbulence and hard choices. Could a more naturally political or commanding leader have steadied the ship? Was Sunak ultimately sunk by the chaos he inherited, or by his own ill-fated indecision? And as Kemi Badenoch attempts to rebuild and Keir Starmer is already out the door, does any path back to power remain?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDrawing on unparalleled access to Sunak's inner circle, and exclusive interviews with Cabinet ministers and senior officials, Anthony Seldon and Tom Egerton offer the definitive account of a premiership that began in crisis, and was never able to fully escape it.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Hardback","offer_id":57503734104437,"sku":"9781805462170","price":25.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781805462187_23b306b9-ee33-4b1b-bb0a-80a9cc834194.jpg?v=1792598826"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-anthony-seldon.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}