David Lloyd George : a political life /

Gilbert's excellent study is precisely what its title states: a political life of one of Britain's most influential prime ministers in the years before he attained that coveted office. Gilbert (University of Illinois at Chicago) convincingly argues that despite the many biographies of Lloyd George, none examines the charismatic figure in the context of his most consuming passion, politics. Most biographers cannot resist the temptation to pursue his many love affairs and sexual liaisons; others have simply not used the primary sources fully enough. Gilbert writes well-a clear, at appropriate times even witty, prose that holds the reader's attention. He has done his research, and he provides full documentation. There are no big, new surprises here, though there is much fleshing out of the larger-than-life politician and some shrewdly observed commentary on Welsh politics. The result is one of the best available studies of a major politician of modern Britain prior to the ``Great War.'' Valuable for all serious students of British history at any level.-R.W. Winks, Yale University