A gripping exploration of the National Health Service, told through the most critical moments in its historySince its foundation in 1948, the NHS has come to define our national identity, making history (and the headlines) again and again - from cutting edge discoveries like the first 'test tube baby', to its heroic response to the Coronavirus crisis. But the NHS has also become a battleground for some of the fiercest political contests of our time, perceived either as a national treasure, or as a lumbering piece of state machinery in need of renovation.In Fighting for Life, bestselling journalist Isabel Hardman cuts through the sentimentality and sloganeering on all sides of the political spectrum. Packed with gripping stories from the people at the beating heart of this venerated institution - its nurses, doctors, patients and the politicians who decide its fate - this is the essential book for understanding our NHS, and who we are as a nation.
A compelling, deftly constructed and powerfully told narrative . . . Hardman is a meticulous journalist with a gift for storytelling. Necessary reading -- Rafael Behr Guardian
Terrific . . . Every aspect of this history is informed and beautifully written -- Alan Johnson Observer, Book of the Week
Vivid and fascinating, this is a beautifully cogent, balanced and human biography of a health service haunted by its own mythology . . . Hardman is impressively even-handed and unsentimental -- Melanie Reid The Times, Book of the Week
It has by far the best analysis of where the health service came from, and where it's going . . . full of excellent stories -- Karol Sikora The Telegraph
Brilliant -- Adam Kay author of This is Going to Hurt and Undoctored
Passionate, deeply researched and page-turningly full of good stories, this is so good one is tempted to say it is the book the NHS has always deserved -- Andrew Marr
This is a sensational and much-needed book: funny, intelligent and so beautifully written that it doesn't read like normal non-fiction . . . thorough, scholarly and above all readable -- Chris van Tulleken
A kaleidoscopic history of the NHS -- Henry Marsh New Statesman
Hardman's writing is breezily accessible, and her deeply researched book is full of colourful vignettes and an enjoyable spice of gossip . . . she is particularly good at locating the NHS within the wider social movements that have changed British life over the 75 years of its existence -- Sarah Neville Financial Times
A brilliantly written and engrossing biography of the NHS . . . compelling and even-handed -- Kate Womersley The Spectator
Isabel Hardman is the Assistant Editor of the Spectator and also presents Radio 4's Week in Westminster. In 2015 she was named the youngest ever Political Journalist of the Year by the Political Studies Association. She appears regularly on TV and radio, including Have I Got News for You, The Andrew Marr Show, The News Quiz, Today programme, Question Time and Sky News. She also writes columns for The Times, The Guardian, The Sun, The Observer, Evening Standard, and the Daily Telegraph.
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