In Search of Michael Howard [Paperback]

'The assiduous Michael Crick ... Crick obviously spent a lot of time diligently trying to crack the mystery of [Howard's family] ... Crick has certainly searched and searched leaving no minutiae unexplored' Andy McSmith, INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY 'Michael Crick has a fearsome reputation as an investigative biographer who will turn up awkward revelations about anyone ... Highly readable, moves with pace, and is well researched' Norman Lamont, EVENING STANDARD 'As Lord Archer and Alex Ferguson have discoveered, having Mr Crick on your case in an uncomfortable experience ... revealing' LONDON DIPLOMAT 'This is a shrewd, diligent, wonderfully readable search. It displays Michael Crick at his best, not just as a voracious digger for facts, but also as an analyst with a subtle political brain ... Read now, while stocks and relevance last' Peter Preston, OBSERVER 'Well-written and researched ... Occasionally, a softer Howard peeks out; politicians, like most people, are a more complicated mix of emotions and beliefs than the caricature the media creates (and the politician often plays up to). This nuance is what makes an in-depth biography such as Crick's worth reading ... fascinating' Peter Hyman, FINANCIAL TIMES 'Like his comrade in arms, Tome Bower, [Crick] is counsel for the prosecution, a biographical rottweiler. Toss him a bone and he chews it to the marrow ... Crick is an investigative journalist, an excellent one' Simon Jenkins, SUNDAY TIMES 'By trawling through Home Office papers at the National Archives in Kew, Crick discovered that Howard's father, Bernard Hecht, was an economic migrant to this country, while his grandfather Morris Wurzberger was an illegal immigrant ... Crick [is] one of the most assiduous and effective investigative journalists around ... clearly meticulously researched. It is methodical and detailed' Rachel Sylvester, DAILY TELEGRAPH 'Michael Crick is an incredible livewire' Craig Brown, MAIL ON SUNDAY 'This major new biography by Michael Crick should be a matter of some importance. Crick has produced scrupulously researched and revelatory biographies of figures as varied as Arthur Scargill, Jeffrey Archer and Sir Alex Ferguson' Harry Reid, THE HERALD [GLASGOW] 'Michael Crick is an impressive investigator of the crimes and follies of the great ... it is a good reminder of the shabby and often decadent Major years. Howard's dark days at the Home Office are also well described in grisly detail' Robert Taylor, TRIBUNE 'A work of careful journalism ... thorough and well-researched, in some respects exceptionally so ... The author tells this story [about the sacking of Derek Lewis] extremely well' Simon Heffer, SPECTATOR 'Michael Crick's new biography ... tells a moving family story' Timothy Garton Ash, GUARDIAN 'This is in many respects a model biography. The writing is fluent and the analysis is generally shrewd and sure-footed' Andrew Lynch, SUNDAY BUSINESS POST (Dublin) 'Brilliant insight into an intriguing MP' Daily Express

Michael Howard has never been far from controversy in his twenty-two years in Parliament. Under Margaret Thatcher he introduced the poll tax, water privatisation and the notorious Clause 28. Later he was one of the most unpopular Home Secretaries of modern times, decried by his deputy Ann Widdecombe for having 'something of the night' about him. By 1997 Howard looked dead politically. Then a dramatic comeback propelled him to the Tory leadership. Michael Crick explores Michael Howard's complicated background -- the son of Jewish immigrants who settled in South Wales. As a member of the Cambridge Tory Mafia he once flirted with Labour, only to become a fervent Thatcherite and Eurosceptic -- but what does he really believe? Based on more than 400 interviews and extensive research, Michael Crick presents a rivetingly revealing look at the man who aspires to overturn Labour's massive majority at the next election.