As one of the last remaining survivors of the Great Depression and the Second World War, I will not go gently into that good night. I want to tell you what the world looks like through my eyes, so that you can help change it
In November 2013, 91-year-old Yorkshireman, RAF veteran and ex-carpet salesman Harry Leslie Smiths Guardian article This year, I will wear a poppy for the last time was shared almost 60,000 times on Facebook and started a huge debate about the state of society.
Now he brings his unique perspective to bear on NHS cutbacks, benefits policy, political corruption, food poverty, the cost of education and much more. From the deprivation of 1930s Barnsley and the terror of war to the creation of our welfare state, Harry has experienced how a great civilisation can rise from the rubble. But at the end of his life, he fears how easily it is being eroded.
Harrys Last Stand is a lyrical, searing modern invective that shows what the past can teach us, and how the future is ours for the taking.
Harry Leslie Smith is a survivor of the Great Depression, a second world war RAF veteran and, at 91, an activist for the poor and for the preservation of social democracy. His Guardian articles have been shared over 60,000 times on Facebook and have attracted huge comment and debate. He has authored numerous books about Britain during the Great Depression, the second world war and postwar austerity. He lives outside Toronto, Canada and in Yorkshire.

zlib/Society, Politics & Philosophy/Politics/Harry Leslie Smith/Harry's Last Stand_23731130.mobi

Leslie Smith, Harry

Wizard Books

United Kingdom and Ireland, United Kingdom

PT, 2014

'A kind of epic poem, one that moves in circular fashion from passionate denunciation to intense autobiographical reflection... should be required reading for every MP, peer, councillor, civil servant and commentator. The fury and sense of powerlessness that so many people feel at government policy beam out of every page.'The Guardian'It is not enough to read Harry's record of the struggles and hopes of a generation – we have to re-assert his principles of common ownership and the welfare state. If Harry can do it, we should too!'Ken Loach, Director of I, Daniel Blake'As one of the last remaining survivors of the Great Depression and the Second World War, I will not go gently into that good night. I want to tell you what the world looks like through my eyes, so that you can help change it...'In November 2013, 91-year-old Yorkshireman, RAF veteran and ex-carpet salesman Harry Leslie Smith's Guardian article –'This year, I will wear a poppy for the last time'– was shared over 80,000 times on Facebook and started a huge debate about the state of society. Now he brings his unique perspective to bear on NHS cutbacks, benefits policy, political corruption, food poverty, the cost of education – and much more. From the deprivation of 1930s Barnsley and the terror of war to the creation of our welfare state, Harry has experienced how a great civilisation can rise from the rubble. But at the end of his life, he fears how easily it is being eroded. Harry's Last Stand is a lyrical, searing modern invective that shows what the past can teach us, and how the future is ours for the taking.'Smith's unwavering will to turn things around makes for inspirational reading.'Big Issue North'[With] sheer emotional power... Harry Leslie Smith reminds us what society without good public services actually looks and feels like.'New Statesman

"'As one of the last remaining survivors of the Great Depression and the Second World War, I will not go gently into that good night. I want to tell you what the world looks like through my eyes, so that you can help change it ... ' In November 2013, 91-year-old Yorkshireman, RAF veteran and ex-carpet salesman Harry Leslie Smith's Guardian article - 'This year, I will wear a poppy for the last time' - was shared almost 60,000 times on Facebook and started a huge debate about the state of society. Now he brings his unique perspective to bear on NHS cutbacks, benefits policy, political corruption, food poverty, the cost of education - and much more. From the deprivation of 1930s Barnsley and the terror of war to the creation of our welfare state, Harry has experienced how a great civilisation can rise from the rubble. But at the end of his life, he fears how easily it is being eroded. Harry's Last Stand is a lyrical, searing modern invective that shows what the past can teach us, and how the future is ours for the taking."--Publisher's description

Harry Leslie Smith was born in 1923 in Barnsley. King George V was on the throne. Stanley Baldwin was Prime Minister. There was no NHS, no welfare state. Those who could afford to took care of themselves; those who couldn't, suffered. And then out of the rubble of the Second World War Harry's generation rebuilt the country. They wanted to build a better, fairer world for their children and grandchildren. And they succeeded. But now Harry sees history repeating - from NHS cutbacks to immigration policies and everything in between. 'Harry's Last Stand' is a searing modern polemic that shows, with the indisputable force of lived experience, why the past shouldn't stay buried, and the future is ours for the taking

2022-12-30