Jim Callaghan’s career in British public life is unique. Starting in humble circumstances, he went on to hold all the major offices of state: Chancellor of the Exchequer, Home Secretary, Foreign Secretary and, for three tumultuous years, from 1976 to 1979, Prime Minister. No other politician in British history has achieved this distinction.

Callaghan’s famous imperturbability never went unchallenged. During his time in office he had to wrestle with the Devaluation Crisis, rioting in Northern Ireland, entry into the European Community, and the ‘Winter of Discontent’. His relationships with Cabinet colleagues, trade union leaders, colonial nationalists and foreign heads of state were close and at times intense. In this masterly biography, Kenneth O. Morgan sheds new light on Callaghan’s role across the spectrum of international and domestic affairs.

From the age of Attlee to the era of Blair, this meticulously researched study illuminates not only the life of its subject but also the history of the Labour Party’s struggle to come to terms with the changes facing the nation at home and abroad. It makes indispensable reading for everyone interested in twentieth century British political life.