HARRYS LAST STAND: HOW THE WORLD MY GENERATION BUILT IS FALLING DOWN, AND WHAT WE CAN DO TO SAVE IT PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Harry Leslie Smith | 224 pages | 10 Feb 2015 | Icon Books Ltd | 9781848317369 | English | Duxford, United Kingdom Harry's Last Stand Brand new: Lowest price The lowest-priced brand-new, unused, unopened, undamaged item in its original packaging where packaging is applicable. Binding: Paperback Language: english. Will be clean, not soiled or stained. See all 3 brand new listings. Buy It Now. Add to cart. About this product Product Information In November , 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, 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 s 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. If it doesn't make you angry there's something wrong with you. It's inspirational stuff. Labour should read to get fire in bellies. Tories should read in shame. Making a simple, emotive case for progressive politics, Smith was the star turn at this year's Labour party conference. If Harry can do it, we should too! Show More Show Less. Any Condition Any Condition. See all 10 - All listings for this product. No ratings or reviews yet No ratings or reviews yet. 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. 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 80, 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. Show more Show less. Any condition Any condition. Last one Free postage. Ratings and reviews Write a review. Most relevant reviews. Well worth the read. Peterson Paperback 4. Van der Kolk Paperback, 4. Save on Non-Fiction Books Trending price is based on prices over last 90 days. You may also like. Paperback Books Harry Harrison. Paperback Books Charlaine Harris. Paperback Books Harry Turtledove. World Do-It-Yourself Books. This item doesn't belong on this page. 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. If it doesn't make you angry there's something wrong with you. It's inspirational stuff. Labour should read to get fire in bellies. Tories should read in shame. Making a simple, emotive case for progressive politics, Smith was the star turn at this year's Labour party conference. If Harry can do it, we should too! Show More Show Less. Any Condition Any Condition. See all 10 - All listings for this product. No ratings or reviews yet No ratings or reviews yet. Be the first to write a review. Best Selling in Nonfiction See all. Bill o'Reilly's Killing Ser. To ask other readers questions about Harry's Last Stand , please sign up. Lists with This Book. Community Reviews. Showing Average rating 4. Rating details. More filters. Sort order. Aug 08, Charlotte Jones rated it it was amazing. As a nearly 23 year-old student, getting by on student loans and a part-time job, it is difficult to comprehend the expanse of time that Harry has lived and remembers. To be honest, unless I am studying a book in university, I am not one for post-it notes or highlighting in my books but with this one I just had to add post-it notes to highlight my thoughts on certain passages and the way they made me think. By including references to popular activists such as Russell Brand and by including references to war poetry in a very subtle way, Harry brings these problems and issues to a level where anyone could relate to what he is saying and understand it. I had no prior knowledge of politics before going into this and I fully understand the vast majority of what the author was trying to get across. The combination of real-life experience in the form of a memoir and the manifesto of what Harry sees for the future was amazingly done and had me very emotional at points. I think people from all over the world, not just Britain would benefit greatly from this. I hope I got my thoughts about this book across in an eloquent enough way to make you want to pick it up because I believe it will be one of the most important books you read. View 2 comments. Aug 23, K. Charles added it Shelves: ww2 , politics , british. A tremendous polemic by this sorely missed, deeply decent man, a WW2 veteran brought up in horrifying, corrosive poverty. Excoriating on austerity and privilege, angrily refusing the 'divide and rule' of Faragist anti immigration racism, he makes you want to take to the streets. A cry from the heart and a crucial reminder that things are going to get a lot worse for almost everyone once more if we don't pull out of this inequality death spiral. Jun 08, Becky rated it really liked it Shelves: in-my-house , philosophy , cheerful-reads , memoir , politics-society , history. Harry's Last Stand. This is an autobiography and political tract from 91 year old Harry Leslie Smith. Harry Smith made the news in when he declared that he would no longer wear a remembrance day poppy, as he was disgusted with seeing it debased on the lapels of our politicians. In Harry's Last Stand he uses his own experiences of life during the Great Depression to draw parallels between the depravation he experienced and the return to these pre welfare state values that he sees now under a Harry's Last Stand. In Harry's Last Stand he uses his own experiences of life during the Great Depression to draw parallels between the depravation he experienced and the return to these pre welfare state values that he sees now under austerity. I recently listened to an item on BBC radio 4 that discussed how contemporary year olds are turning more to the right politically, this is something that scares the bejeezus out of me. Harry Smith tries his hardest to provide a wake-up call about the road austerity measures are taking us down. This reads like Jilted Generation but from the other side of the baby-boom generation, the message is largely the same. Benefits, a free health service and economic support were supposed to create a better society, and were to replace the Victorian values of reliance on charity, stigmatisation and shame of poor relief. These Victorian values are what Harry see's being returned to the UK. Today more and more working families are reliant of food banks in order to feed their families. Society has returned to a situation where renting is the norm, with the dream of owning your own property fading into the distance for most people. Not only that, but the quality of the property available is being pushed lower and lower as landlords feel able to push the boundaries of legality once again due to the desperation of those needing homes. Once again people on benefits are seen as at fault, the ideas of the 'deserving' and 'un-deserving poor' are once again taking over. This is driven largely by the popular media and it is these myths that Harry Smith is trying to debunk. I hope, I seriously hope that people read this book and take on board the emotional and heartfelt message that this elderly gentleman is trying to get across. To my mind this is a very important message that needs to be heard. Sep 01, John Farebrother rated it it was amazing. I would give this book six stars if I could. It should be required reading for all politicians, and all public ie private school children. The author is in his nineties, and has lived through the best and the worst of the UK in the last century and this. Looking back on his life, he shares with us the benefit of his experiences. With working class, northern wisdom, he points out to us what should be common knowledge to everyone, in language that makes it blindingly obvious: the generation that I would give this book six stars if I could. With working class, northern wisdom, he points out to us what should be common knowledge to everyone, in language that makes it blindingly obvious: the generation that fought WWII invested their energies and money in building a new country that looked after the poorest. The NHS, free quality education, decent housing, and jobs for everyone.