Content area
Full Text
John Bew Citizen Clem: A Biography of Attlee London, UK: Riverrun, 2017
Reviewed by Ron Hikel
Clement Attlee was a gentleman. Most observers agree on that. But what else was he? John Bew's widely hailed new biography (winner of the Orwell Prize for political writing and, for numerous reviewers, the 2017 book of the year) references over 40 adjectives to describe what he was and what he was not: honest, calm, patriotic, modest, hard-working and trustworthy were among the former and undramatic, unambitious and quite without need for domination or praise, among the latter.
One of the pleasures of a good political read, when finished, is to compare the subject with present-day office-holders. Clem Attlee was the full polar opposite of Donald J. Trump. But despite personal restraint and decency, Attlee in his lifetime nevertheless recorded immense achievements: creation of the National Health Service, National Insurance and the social safety net, self-government and independence for India and other former colonies, the transformation of the British Empire into the modern Commonwealth and unbroken leadership of the Labour Party for 20 years, among a very long list.
Attlee's life was a profound paradox. In the words of diplomat and Member of Parliament Harold Nicolson, Clem was "a dear little man." Yet in 2004 British academics named him the greatest of all 20th century prime ministers. How did someone so mild and monosyllabic, even said some a person of the second-rank, bring about so much valuable change that is still standing today? Bew unfortunately does not offer an over-arching explanation or interpretive theory to answer this puzzle. Rather, in 564 pages he describes dozens of episodes of challenge and response, culminating in Attlee's run as PM from 1945 to 1951, during which he re-made modern Britain.
This slowly unrolling narrative, while informative, would have benefitted from a bit more interpretive analysis;...