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Keir Hardie was a founder and the first parliamentary leader of the Labour Party. At the turn of the nineteenth century he was Labour's most famous face. But despite being voted Labour's Greatest Hero at the 2008 Party Conference, in recent years his extraordinary story seems all but forgotten. Born illegitimate just outside Glasgow in 1856, his life didn't start gently. Before the age of 10, he was the sole wage earner in his working class, atheist family. He never went to school but was self-taught, avidly reading books lent to him by a kind young clergyman. This led to two major conversions in his life: first to Christianity, and then to socialism. While earlier biographies have neglected the former, pointing out his experience of hardship as the source of his passion for social justice, the role of Christianity in Hardie's life was profound. It shaped his involvement in many of the greatest social changes of the time. In this new work, celebrated author and activist Bob Holman brings Hardie's story to life. Hardie was no plaster saint. But his message about rising above hardship to forge a better world is a timeless inspiration.
About the Author
BOB HOLMAN is a former social worker and professor of social administration who has spent the last 20 years living in poor housing estates, latterly Easterhouse in Glasgow, and supporting the poor in practical ways. Driven by his Christian faith, he continues to campaign for the poor particularly through his books which include A NEW DEAL FOR SOCIAL WELFARE and CHILDREN AND CRIME.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The answer's in the title. The 2008 Labour Conference voted to make him their official "Greatest Hero", yet many people will have little idea about either the man or his achievements. In this short biography, Bob Holman seeks to address this ignorance and make a case for Hardie to be better known.
Born into a working class family and with little formal education, Hardie learnt about social injustice from the receiving end. By the age of 12 he had already become his family's main breadwinner and had first-hand experience of being trapped at the bottom of a mine shaft.
His story is of a rise from obscurity to becoming a founding genius of a Labour Party that functioned independently of special interest groups or the patronage of sympathetic, but essentially patrician, Liberals. It's the story, too, of a man of extraordinary principle and personal integrity.
At 200 pages, this is highly readable introduction to an important, but overlooked, political figure. It concentrates chiefly on the chronology of Hardie's life, but also looks for the influences that shaped his political philosophy. Personally, I felt that the author never quite brought Hardie to life: this was a man, after all, whose oratory drew people in their thousands, who inspired individuals to dedicate their lives to social justice, who fearlessly criticised wealthy hypocrites and who managed to organise a broad coalition of the Left into a political party (which was as difficult then as it is now).
Born into a working class family and with little formal education, Hardie learnt about social injustice from the receiving end. By the age of 12 he had already become his family's main breadwinner and had first-hand experience of being trapped at the bottom of a mine shaft.
His story is of a rise from obscurity to becoming a founding genius of a Labour Party that functioned independently of special interest groups or the patronage of sympathetic, but essentially patrician, Liberals. It's the story, too, of a man of extraordinary principle and personal integrity.
At 200 pages, this is highly readable introduction to an important, but overlooked, political figure. It concentrates chiefly on the chronology of Hardie's life, but also looks for the influences that shaped his political philosophy. Personally, I felt that the author never quite brought Hardie to life: this was a man, after all, whose oratory drew people in their thousands, who inspired individuals to dedicate their lives to social justice, who fearlessly criticised wealthy hypocrites and who managed to organise a broad coalition of the Left into a political party (which was as difficult then as it is now).
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Having been brought up in Bradford, West Yorkshire [where the ILP was formed]; lived in Glasgow [where the ILP was strong] and now live in Cumnock, Ayrshire [which was Keir Hardie's home for many years], the book is a specially interesting biography to me, of the founder and first leader of the Labour Party. Labour's Greatest Hero - probably. There have been various biography's of Keir Hardie over the years, which deal mainly with Hardie's 'political career' - but Bob Holman's book - "LABOUR'S GREATEST HERO?" approaches Hardie's life in a different way and brings Hardie's story to life. Holman deals with much about Hardie's political philosophies and career - BUT successfully and interestingly portrays Hardie's personality and character. Hardie was a major political figure, and this book provides some understanding of what made Keir Hardie the man that he was. Holman points out that there were two major conversions in Hardie's life - first to Christianity, and then to socialism. Other Hardie biographers have neglected the former, but the role of Christianity in Hardie's life was profound. It shaped Hardie's involvement in many of the greatest social changes of the time, and the world as we know it today.
As readers are offered 'The Third Man' and await publication of 'A Journey' as personal records of life in politics - I strongly recommend Bob Holman's KEIR HARDIE: LABOUR'S GREATEST HERO? as a inspiring biography and a timeless inspiration to all.
As readers are offered 'The Third Man' and await publication of 'A Journey' as personal records of life in politics - I strongly recommend Bob Holman's KEIR HARDIE: LABOUR'S GREATEST HERO? as a inspiring biography and a timeless inspiration to all.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Well written and easily read. Contains interesting information which I had not found in previous research
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Simple and biased but still good
Within its limitations, this is a wonderful and inspiring biography. Its subtitle is `Labour's greatest hero? Read more
Published 8 months ago by balan
be inspired!
An interesting and inspiring book, particularly if you are a Christian and a socialist. Shows how Keir Hardie's faith inspired his politics.
Published 23 months ago by herts coffee lover
Keir Hardie - Labours Greatest Hero
I purchased this book for my brother (a non computer type) a priest in Australia. He seems content with it and it appears good reading for the politically minded reader. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Dafydd Robertson
Keir Hardie
This is a well written and researched book on the 'Great Man', stands up well to to Keir Hardie- Radical and Socialist by Kenneth Morgan
Published on 26 April 2010 by Red Cabbage
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