Heroes and Contemporaries

"Heroes and Contemporaries" is a book of profiles written with the author's personal insights, anecdotes and judgments on fascinating public figures he encountered in life's journey. Jonathan Aitken was for many years at the heart of British journalism and politics. His early chapters offer illuminating portraits of historical characters he knew as a young man including Sir Winston Churchill, his son Randolph Churchill, and Lord Beaverbrook, the author's great uncle, who founded the Aitken dynasty of newspaper owners and politicians. In his own career, which took him through 23 years in the House of Commons to the Cabinet, Aitken became close to some of the most intriguing figures in British politics including Harold Wilson; Margaret Thatcher and her family; and Michael Portillo - all profiled in these pages. Jonathan Aitken also enjoyed a colourful personal and business life which ranged wider than politics. This is reflected in the chapters on Sir James Goldsmith, John Aspinall and Sir Frank Williams. During his prison sentence, Aitken was visited by several of his subjects including Lord Longford and Nicky Gumbel. The resulting mixture of these profiles makes a book of attractively written biographical studies full of fresh perceptions and revealing stories.