Fighting for Life

The Twelve Battles that Made Our NHS, and the Struggle for Its Future

De: Isabel Hardman

Narrado por: Isabel Hardman

Brought to you by Penguin.

A gripping, provocative exploration of the National Health Service, told through the most critical moments in its history, and published ahead of the 75th anniversary of its foundation.

Since its foundation in 1948, the NHS has been a cornerstone of British life - we are born into it, we are looked after by it, and quite often we die in it. From the sexual revolution of the 60s to the first test tube baby, from the Mental Health Act to the Coronavirus crisis, it has made history again and again - shaping our society and culture.

But the NHS has also become a battleground for some of the fiercest political contests of our time; variously perceived as a national treasure that needs to be preserved at all costs, and as a lumbering piece of state machinery in need of renovation. In Fighting for Life award-winning journalist Isabel Hardman tells the story of a beloved institution through the people who keep it alive - its nurses, its doctors, its patients and the politicians who decide its fate.

With her trademark acuity she tells a story that is by turns uplifting and inspiring, and shocking and alarming. Cutting through sentimentality and sloganeering on all sides of the political spectrum, she shows us how our NHS really works, and what it means for our future.

© Isabel Hardman 2023 (P) Penguin Audio 2023

Reseñas de la Crítica

A compelling, deftly constructed and powerfully told narrative . . . Hardman is a meticulous journalist with a gift for storytelling. Necessary reading (Rafael Behr)

Terrific . . . Every aspect of this history is informed and beautifully written (Alan Johnson)

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)

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)

Brilliant (Adam Kay)

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)

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)

A brilliantly written and engrossing biography of the NHS . . . compelling and even-handed (Kate Womersley)