Short History of the Liberal Party

Chris Cook lifts the lid on the 'third Party;' charting their fascinating journey over the last century, from the landslide victory of 1906 under Asquith, via their descent into divisions and decline in the interwar years, to in-depth analysis of the 2010 British Election and their return to Government in the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition.

"The great strength of Chris Cook's party history is that it is a work of reference and record. Dr Cook provides a highly readable narrative Those who need a reliable single volume history of the Liberal Party and the Liberal Democrats from 1900 onwards should have this tome on their shelves. " - Michael Meadowcroft, Liberal historian and MP for Leeds West, 1983-87 "First published in 1976, Chris Cook's Short History of the Liberal Party remains a first point of reference for students of the modern party. This seventh edition brings the story up to date, charting a clear and perceptive course through the turbulent leaderships of Kennedy, Campbell and Clegg to the party's triumphal return to government following the General Election of 2010. - David Dutton, Ramsay Muir Emeritus Professor of Modern History, University of Liverpool, UK

CHRIS COOK was educated at St Catharine's College, Cambridge and Nuffield College, Oxford, UK. He has been director of successive surveys by the Modern Archives Unit at the London School of Economics, as well as Head of History at what is now London Metropolitan University. His many previous publications for Macmillan include the six-volume Sources in British Political History, 1900-51. A Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, he is also editor of the best-selling Pears Cyclopaedia. He has recently completed a new edition of The Slump: Britain in the Great Depression (with John Stevenson).