WILLIAM SHAWCROSS

In this landmark short book, William Shawcross examines the state of the Western alliance after the Iraqi War and makes - powerfully, persuasively, controversially - his case for the removal of Saddam Hussein's government. The U.S.-European relationship has been profoundly shaken by the disagreement over whether to invade Iraq and remove Saddam Hussein. Virtually the entire intellectual elite in Britain and on the Continent disagrees with the position taken by Tony Blair. But not William Shawcross, one of Britian's most admired commentators, who makes a brilliant case for the U.S.-British operation and lays out why Europeans are making a serious blunder in their actions.

This beautiful and perceptive book details the Queens achievements through decades of upheaval and reveals the personal qualities that have made those achievements possible. With an authoritative text and remarkable photographs - most of them in colour - Queen and Country tells anew the story of Queen Elizabeth IIs 50-year reign. From the romantic and tragic beginning, to the tumultuous and eventful present, the BBC along with reporter, author, and broadcaster William Shawcross show how Elizabeth IIs strength of character, acute intelligence, and ingrained reticence have both shaped and been buffeted by a drastically changing world. The story that Shawcross tells focuses on the Queens constancy through 50 years of extraordinary change. From the middle of the twentieth century to the beginning of the twenty-first, the Queen has watched the rise and fall of labour unions, the building and partial dismantling of the welfare state, and the progress by turns of socialism, conservatism, Labour, neo-conservatism, and New Labour. She has been counselor and sometimes friend to ten prime ministers of Britain and to dozens of Commonwealth leaders abroad. The small and mainly respectful band of reporters present when Elizabeth became queen have been replaced by an enormous cohort of technicians operating in a variety of media with a relentless and remorseless hunger, not so much for news as for scandal. But, while members of her family have been embarrassed or disgraced, her own rectitude has never been questioned. Queen Elizabeths real achievement is that she has been true to the promise she made to her subjects in her Christmas broadcast in 1957.

Written with complete access to the Queen Mother's personal letters and diaries, William Shawcross' riveting biography is the truly definitive account of this remarkable woman, whose life spanned the twentieth century. Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes Lyon, the youngest daughter of the Earl of Strathmore, was born on 4 August 1900. Drawing on her private correspondence and other unpublished material from the Royal Archives, William Shawcross vividly reveals the witty girl who endeared herself to soldiers convalescing at Glamis in the First World War; the assured young Duchess of York; the Queen, at last feeling able to look the East End in the face at the height of the Blitz; the Queen Mother, representing the nation at home and abroad throughout her long widowhood. 'This splendid biography captures something of the warm glow that she brought to every event and encounter. It also reveals a deeper and more interesting character, forged by good sense, love of country, duty, humour and an instinct for what is right. This is a wonderful book, authoritative, frank and entertaining