Search results for ""Author Simon Kerry""

A remarkable figure of British politics between the late Victorian and interwar years, Lord Lansdowne was among the last hereditary aristocrats to wield power by birth. Over the course of a distinguished fifty year career he served as Governor-General of Canada, Viceroy of India, Secretary of State for War, Foreign Secretary and Leader of the House of Lords. It was Lansdowne who engineered the crucial changes in British foreign policy and the burden of Britain's imperial commitments, led the House of Lords through one of the most divisive periods of modern times and at the end of the First World War became a figure of notoriety greater than any of the popular leaders of the day. Descended from one the Great Whig families, he was a moderate progressive incapable of discourtesy or of any dishonesty. He was trusted by everyone. His life illustrates the challenges that his class had to face at this time and acts as a prism through which to view the transition of Britain from a global force to a much reduced power. This authoritative text, based on the first full examination of Lansdowne's extensive archive, draws this great man out of the shadows and presents him in the context of his own time, offering a fascinating insight into the leading personalities and political events of his day. Simon Kerry's biography shows that many of the issues Lansdowne faced are still important today and that his career profoundly affected the course of modern history.

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This new and comprehensive story of instrumental conservationist Pearl Chase’s fascinating life is a tribute to her remarkable achievements. Spending over seventy years pioneering work in preservation, social services, and civic activism, Chase met and corresponded with the most significant influencers of the time. Serving on hundreds of committees and working with organizations, she received over eighty national, state and local awards including two honorary doctorates. Pearl Chase was known as Santa Barbara’s woman of the twentieth century. Devoted to improving the world around her, Chase was an intrepid, forward thinking, practical-minded leader. Through his meticulous research and with respect for his distinguished American ancestor, British historian, Simon Kerry traces Chase’s early life and collegiate years at UC Berkeley through to her return to Santa Barbara and indelible impact on both California and the nation. During a tumultuous period in American history in the early twentieth century, she paved a way for not only the environmentalist movement but also for women’s influence in politics in the federal and local civic spheres. Her compassionate, charitable nature extended to many cultural groups and causes, evident in her vocal support of protecting the lands and customs of Native Americans in the southwest.

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