Herbert Samuel: A Political Life »

Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts

Herbert Samuel's extraordinarily long political career began in the age of Gladstone and ended in the era of Grimond. Wasserstein assesses the vital role played by Samuel in the survival of the Liberal Party and his part in translating that doctrine into legislation that laid the foundations of the welfare state. He played a central role in the history of Zionism, serving as first British High Commissioner in Palestine from 1920 to 1925. He returned to office in the National Government of 1931, and led the Liberal Party between 1931 and 1935. In later life Samuel established himself as a philosopher, a respected elder statesman, and a much admired broadcaster. Wasserstein's scholarly and readable biography, based on extensive research in all the available sources, provides a rounded portrait of a leading twentieth-century political figure.