Search results for ""Author Anthony Seldon""

Blackwell's Non-Fiction Book of the Month'A formidable achievement' Rory Stewart'Thoughtful [and] heartfelt' Observer'Profound [and] compelling' Spectator'A noble endeavour' New StatesmanWithout 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.The 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.Tracing 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, The Path of Peace is the extraordinary story of Anthony's epic walk, an unforgettable act of remembrance and a triumphant rediscovery of what matters most in life.***A WATERSTONES BEST BOOKS OF 2022 PICK***____________________________________________'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'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'A journey of self-discovery and a pilgrimage of peace... A remarkable book by a remarkable man.' Michael Morpurgo'An incredible journey that will move and inspire.' Bear Grylls

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Sir Anthony Seldon is an educator, historian, writer and commentator. A former headmaster and vice chancellor, he is author or editor of over fifty books on contemporary history, politics and education, including Johnson at 10, The Impossible Office?, May at 10, Cameron at 10, Brown at 10, Blair Unbound and The Path of Peace. He's been co-founder of Action for Happiness and the Institute of Contemporary British History, and is founder of the Museum of the Prime Minister.

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As 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. In 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.In 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. Paradoxically, 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.

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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.

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***THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER****A FINANCIAL TIMES, TELEGRAPH, NEW STATESMAN AND TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR*''Excellent... first class... both fair and damning.'' Daniel Finkelstein, The Times ''Authoritative, gripping and often jaw-dropping'' Andrew Rawnsley, Observer''Invaluable'' New Statesman''Explosive'' Isabel Hardman, The iAfter 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 agonising upheaval of Brexit and t

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Updated with significant new material, the paperback edition of the 2019 political bestseller. Theresa May presided over the most dramatic and historic peacetime premiership for a century. May at 10 tells the compelling inside story of the most turbulent period in modern British politics for 100 years. Written by one of Britain's leading political and social commentators, May at 10 describes how Theresa May arrived in 10 Downing Street in 2016 with the clearest, yet toughest, agenda of any Prime Minister since the Second World War: delivering Brexit. What follows defies belief or historical precedent. This story has never been told. Including a comprehensive series of interviews with May's closest aides and allies, and with unparalleled access to the advisors who shaped her premiership, Downing Street's official historian Anthony Seldon decodes the enigma of the Prime Minister's tenure. Drawing on all his authorial experience, he unpacks what is the

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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.

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Help teens access the therapeutic power of yoga and mindfulness in their daily lives with this guide. Explaining the science of yoga and how this ties in with adolescent physical and neurological development, the book also gives concrete ways to use yogic techniques to overcome issues such as anxiety, bullying, relationship issues, depression and sleep deprivation.The applied yoga in this book includes not only asana, pranayama, meditation and yoga nidra exercises, but also throws the net wider to include visualisations, philosophy and modes of thinking. Including the latest research and evidence on yoga therapy, it shows how yoga's positive influence extends beyond specific issues. The methods in this book will instil a long-lasting sense of optimism and self-regulation among young people both on and off the mat.

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***THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER****A FINANCIAL TIMES, TELEGRAPH, NEW STATESMAN AND TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR*'Excellent... first class... both fair and damning.' Daniel Finkelstein, The Times 'Authoritative, gripping and often jaw-dropping' Andrew Rawnsley, Observer'Invaluable' New Statesman'Explosive' Isabel Hardman, The iAfter 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 agonising 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 unravelled 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 Prime Minister to have led the United Kingdom since Thatcher. Based on more than 200 interviews with key aides, allies and insiders, Johnson at 10 gives the first full account of Johnson's premiership, the shockwaves of which are still felt today.***A WATERSTONES BEST POLITICS BOOK OF 2023***

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Marking the third centenary of the office of Prime Minister, this book tells its extraordinary story, explaining how and why it has endured longer than any other democratic political office in world history. Sir Anthony Seldon, historian of Number 10 Downing Street, explores the lives and careers, loves and scandals, successes and failures, of all our great Prime Ministers. From Robert Walpole and William Pitt the Younger, to Clement Attlee and Margaret Thatcher, Seldon discusses which of our Prime Ministers have been most effective and why. He reveals the changing relationship between the Monarchy and the office of the Prime Minister in intimate detail, describing how the increasing power of the Prime Minister in becoming leader of Britain coincided with the steadily falling influence of the Monarchy. This book celebrates the humanity and frailty, work and achievement, of these 55 remarkable individuals, who averted revolution and civil war, leading the country through times of peace, crisis and war.

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