Audiobooks narrated by Tony Benn

Tony Benn at the BBC: The Benn Tapes, Free at Last! and more

"A collection of Tony Benn’s private audio diaries, documentaries and archive interviews Tony Benn was the patriarch of the Labour left, a radical statesman, orator and anti-war campaigner who spent over 50 years as an MP, serving in the Cabinet under Harold Wilson and James Callaghan. A prolific diarist, his political memoirs have been compared to Pepys in their detail, scope and accuracy. Three volumes are included here, read by Benn himself, together with four fascinating programmes focussing on the man behind the diaries. Part I: Tony Benn’s Diaries The Benn Tapes 1 – For over 25 years, Tony Benn sat late into the night dictating his personal account of the daily happenings at the heart of government. In this unique series, he shares his remarkable recordings from history’s front line, recalling events such as Harold Wilson’s surprise 1976 resignation; the miners’ strike of 1984-1985 and the 1992 general election. The Benn Tapes 2 – This second series of behind-the-scenes revelations sees Benn recounting why he believes nuclear power is unsafe, disclosing what went on during Cabinet reshuffles and tracing the split in the party following its 1979 defeat, the emergence of the Social Democratic Party, and his challenge to deputy leader Denis Healy. Free at Last!: The Diaries 1991-2001 – Spanning Tony Benn’s final decade as an MP, this third volume covers the Gulf War, the rise of New Labour, the death of Diana Princess of Wales and peace in Northern Ireland. Mixing political observations with a moving account of family life, it is full of humour, insight, joy and sadness. Part 2: Tony Benn’s Life In the Psychiatrist’s Chair: Tony Benn – Dr Anthony Clare talks to the legendary parliamentarian about his life, his career and how his guiding principles were influenced by his parents’ social and political convictions. Sentimental Journey: Tony Benn – Arthur Smith accompanies Tony Benn on a trip back to the place where he was born, grew up, and spent most of his political life – the City of Westminster. With Great Pleasure: Tony Benn – The veteran politician presents a selection of the prose and poetry that has shaped his personal philosophy, including the words of Mahatma Gandhi, Dwight D Eisenhower, Oscar Wilde and John Bunyan. Night Waves: Tony Benn – In an event from the 2008 Free Thinking festival, Tony Benn talks about the value of experience and discusses his own life experience with presenter Susan Hitch and the audience. Cast and credits The Benn Tapes Read by Tony Benn Produced by Keith Jones First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 21 Jul-8 Sep 1993 (Series 1), 17 Oct- 5 Dec 1994 (Series 2) Free at Last!: The Diaries 1991-2001 Read by Tony Benn Produced by Jane Ray First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 13-17 Oct 2003 In the Psychiatrist’s Chair: Tony Benn Presented by Dr Anthony Clare A Michael Ember production First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 13 Aug 1995 Sentimental Journey: Tony Benn With Arthur Smith and Tony Benn Produced by Dilly Barlow First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 29 Jul 2006 With Great Pleasure: Tony Benn Presented by Tony Benn Readers: Saffron Burrows, Jim Findley and Carl Prekopp Produced by Christine Hall First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 26 Jul 2007 Night Waves: Tony Benn Presented by Susan Hitch With Tony Benn Produced by Allegra McIlroy First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 11 Dec 2008 © 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd"

Tony Benn (Author), Tony Benn (Narrator)

Audiobook

Sentimental Journeys: Stories of personal travel: A BBC Radio 4 comedy

"Arthur Smith takes a trip down memory lane with celebrities including Miriam Margolyes, Tony Benn and Jack Vettriano 'Charming' The Times Comedian and broadcaster Arthur Smith plays tour guide to fifteen well-known personalities, as they visit places that are meaningful to them and remember pivotal moments in their lives. Through genial chat, humorous banter and gentle probing, he discovers just what made these locations so special and significant - and opens the floodgates to some amazing personal stories. Revisiting their home towns, Jack Vettriano and Barbara Castle reminisce about their youth, while other guests travel further afield. Returning to Romania, Annie Nightingale recalls her 1990 visit, shortly after the revolution, and the tour she organised to bring Western music to the youth of Bucharest. Eric Newby goes back to Fontanello, where he was a prisoner of war from 1943 - and where he first met the beautiful blonde who was to become his wife. Meanwhile, Miriam Margolyes embarks on a quest to trace the history of her Jewish family in Belarus. Among Arthur's other travelling companions are Hammer Horror actress Ingrid Pitt, who returns to Buenos Aires, where she lived in the 1970s with her racing-driver husband; Germaine Greer, who takes a nostalgic trip to southern Italy, where she spent the summer of 1967; and Imogen Stubbs, who retraces her steps to her alma mater, Oxford University's Exeter College - and to a rustic, romantic shack out in the woods... Eclectic, entertaining, intriguing and surprising, this captivating collection will give you new insight into the extraordinary lives and experiences of some truly fascinating people. Production credits Presented by Arthur Smith Produced by Sharon Banoff, Dilly Barlow, Sara-Jane Hall, Rebecca Moore and Vibeka Venema First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on the following dates: Barbara Castle 4 January 1998 Nick Hancock 11 January 1998 Simon Callow 18 January 1998 Eric Newby 12 February 1998 Miriam Margolyes 4 April 1999 Imogen Stubbs 11 April 1999 Robert Fisk 18 April 1999 Jack Vettriano 1 July 2006 Germaine Greer 8 July 2006 Tony Benn 29 July 2006 Ingrid Pitt 5 August 2006 Brendan Foster 12 August 2006 Shaparak Khorsandi 19 August 2006 Julian Lloyd Webber 26 August 2006 Annie Nightingale 9 September 2006 © 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd."

Arthur Smith (Author), Arthur Smith, Barbara Castle, Germaine Greer, Imogen Stubbs, Nick Hancock, Robert Fisk, Shappi Korsandi, Simon Callow, Tony Benn (Narrator)

Audiobook

An Audience with Tony Benn

"After he announced his retirement to 'spend more time with politics', much loved parliamentarian Tony Benn brought his unmistakable presence to the stage in a sell-out 'Evening With' event. His only props: a flask of tea, some rubbed tobacco and his trademark pipe... An Audience with Tony Benn is a mix of politics, opinion and debate as the man himself explores issues of today spiced with memories of the past. He then fields questions from a live audience, answered with his usual mixture of insight, analysis and piercing wit. (P)2002 Hodder & Stoughton Audiobooks"

Tony Benn (Author), Tony Benn (Narrator)

Audiobook

Letters To My Grandchildren

"As a diarist I have chronicled the time through which I have lived in meticulous detail: but all that is history. What matters now is the future for those who will live through it. The past is the past but there may be lessons to be learned which could help the next generation to avoid mistakes their parents and grandparents made. Certainly at my age I have learned an enormous amount from the study of history - not so much from the political leaders of the time but from those who struggled for justice and explained the world in a way that shows the continuity of history and has inspired me to do my work. Normality for any individual is what the world is like on the day they are born. The normality of the young is wholly different from the normality of their grandparents. It is the disentangling of the real questions from the day to day business of politics that may make sense for those who take up the task as they will do. Every generation has to fight the same battles as their ancestors had to fight, again and again, for there is no final victory and no final defeat. Two flames have burned from the beginning of time - the flame of anger against injustice and the flame of hope. If this book serves its purpose it will fan both flames."

Tony Benn (Author), Tony Benn (Narrator)

Audiobook

More Time for Politics: Diaries 2001-2007

"Brought to you by Penguin. When Tony Benn left Parliament after 51 years he quoted his wife Caroline's remark that now he would have 'more time for politics'. And so this has proved: in the first seven years of this century he has helped reinvigorate national debate through public meetings, mass campaigns and appearances in the media, passionately bringing moral and political issues to wide audiences. And throughout, as ever, he has been keeping his diaries. Commenting on the demise of the New Labour project from the re-election of Tony Blair in 2001 to the ultimate foreign policy disasters of Afghanistan and Iraq, he gives other prescient accounts of the government's by-passing of Cabinet, parliament and the party, of the 'war on terror', the debate about Islam, globalisation and the changes in British society. Although he is no longer in power or in parliament, Tony Benn remains a figure of enormous respect whose direct views, honestly expressed, have often awakened the national conscience. His latest Diaries, human and challenging in turn, are an enthralling read. © Tony Benn 2007 (P) Penguin Audio 2007"

Tony Benn (Author), Tony Benn (Narrator)

Audiobook

Audiobooks Narrated by Tony Benn

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