The Chancellors' Tales: Managing the British Economy

"Anyone who remembers the episode of Father Ted in which he uses his Golden Cleric award acceptiance speech to stick the boot in to everyone who has ever crossed him will find many of the reminiscences strangely familiar."
EN Magazine

"One of the many fascinating sub-themes to emerge from this collection is how little regard even the more cerebral holders of the office since 1974 had for the craft of the professional economist ... the inclusion of the discussion transcripts [from the original lectures] is a great bonus."
Peter Hennessy, Times Literary Supplement

"Sir Howard Davies had the ingenious idea of getting every chancellor from Denis Healy, except John Major who held the office for only a year before being translated to higher things, to give an account of how they saw things."
Financial Times

"Davies writes a careful but typically elegant introduction."
Public

"A crucial text for those interested in British economic policy since the breakdown of Bretton Woods."
Chris Huhne, Business Economist

"Almost all the chancellors holding office between 1974 and 1997 set out their personal interpretation of their experiences, with disarming openness at times – and Howard Davies brings the recurring themes together with great skill. Taken collectively these essays give us an absorbing insight into the conduct of economic policy."
Lord Burns, Former Treasury Permanent Secretary