Brief Lives

Description

An intimate and very personal portrait of the second half of the 20th century In the course of a long and successful career as a journalist and author, Paul Johnson has known popes, presidents, prime ministers, painters, poets, playwrights, even the foul-mouthed publican Muriel Belcher, who ran the legendary Colony Club. Harking back to the scandalously anecdotal 17th century book by John Aubrey on the celebrities of his times, Brief Lives is the distilled essence of Johnson's experience of a complex variety of people who have contributed to our political, spiritual and cultural life. He advised Margaret Thatcher, counselled Princess Diana, had a drawing of him done by Ernest Hemingway and enjoyed the company of John Osborne, Arnold Wesker and Harold Pinter at Buckingham Palace. He has been an insider, outside observer and universal commentator on the individuals who have changed history, formed public taste or simply lightened our lives by their presence.

Paul Johnson is a journalist, historian, speechwriter and author. He came to prominence in the 50s writing for the New Statesman, where he was editor from 1965 - 1970. He then worked as a speechwriter for Margaret Thatcher (with whom he was at Oxford) and wrote a weekly column for the Spectator. He is married with two children and lives in London's Notting Hill Gate. He has written many books, including A HISTORY OF THE MODERN WORLD,1983, A HISTORY OF THE JEWS, 1987, and HEROES, 2007.