Alastair Campbell

Maya Lowe is one of the world's most beautiful film starsShe still thinks she can lead a normal life, despite the fame that has made her a celebrity on both sides of the Atlantic. The twists and turns of her public and private life are observed by Steve Watkins, her friend since school-days. He, too, swears that their relationship hasn't changed since they were teenagers. But such a relationship becomes unbalanced. under threat. threatens survive a fame as great as Maya's? Can a man like Steve seriously remain part of her life? He certainly thinks so. But amid the twists and turns of Maya's public and private lives, the gulf between what Steve thinks and what is actually true gets ever wider. And in a world where the obsession with celebrity seems to make everyone want to be one, truth is hard to find. Set in modern-day Britain, America and France, Alastair Campbell's second novel is part psychological thriller, part exploration of the psychology of fame. Steve is a brilliantly ambiguous figure, narrating a story full of morally complex characters from the worlds of film, business, TV, journalism and private investigation. Whether through stars with a love-hate relationship with their public; agents milking the culture of celebrity; a media that cannot get enough because the public always want more, Campbell depicts a society feeding vainly on fame, and the dangerous consequences for those caught up in its frenzy.

In the third and final volume of Alastair Campbell’s acclaimed account of the Campbells the story resumes at a high pace. Successive incidents include the 9th Earl’s part in the 1685 Rebellion and his eventual execution; the 10th Earl’s raising to a Dukedom; the Massacre of Glencoe; the 2nd Duke’s quashing of the 1715 Jacobite Rebellion at Sheriffmuir; the notable part played by the Clan in the 1745 Rebellion and in its aftermath the sorry tale of the Appin Murder.Following the defeat of the Jacobite armies at Culloden in1746 the old Clan system effectively came to an end. Succeeding chapters describe the break-up of the old order and the diaspora across the world together with details of the chiefly family and an account of the part played by the Clan in the British Army from its founding down to the war in Iraq. It is extraordinary to see how firmly the Campbells have left their imprint, how widely and in what a variety of ways.Appendices cover the heraldic history of Clan Campbell and the titles it has gained.The book is illustrated with maps expertly drawn by Kenneth Campbell and twenty pages of plates, four of them in colour. It includes appendices covering the Clan’s heraldic history and the titles it has gained over the centuries, and ends with a full bibliography and comprehensive index. Alistair Campbell's trilogy ranges over the histories of the West Highlands, Scotland, and the Scots overseas, in all of which Clan Campbell played a notable and often decisive part. His writing has combined depth and readability in a well-paced narrative. In recording the history of one remarkable family of people, he has made a significant contribution to the history of Scotland as a whole.

Volume 2 of A History of Clan Campbell continues the story, from the Campbells’ recovery after Flodden to cracks in Clan unity in the seventeenth century. It charts the Clan’s return to power and influence in the decades after Flodden and describes the background of devastating religious conflict in Scotland during the period. Within five years of Flodden, Colin, 3rd Earl, was Vice-Regent and Lieutenant of the Kingdom. Within five decades the Clan had extended their possessions to the Western Isles, reinforced their Highland dominance, and become the most powerful family in the nation and stayed that way for a century and a half, despite everything history could throw at them. Religious conflict in Scotland during almost the whole of the period was devastating. The Crown vacillated between Reformed, Episcopal, and Catholic doctrine whether it was based in Edinburgh or, after 1603, in London. The Campbell chiefs largely held firm to the Protestant Reformation, with one exception. Late in the sixteenth century, however, a crack appeared in the remarkable unity of the Clan: a nationwide conspiracy involving the Campbells of Glenorchy, Lochnell, and Ardkinglas, led to the death of the Bonnie Earl of Moray, the murder of Campbell of Cawdor, and two attempts on the life of 'Grim-faced Archie' the 7th Earl who subsequently turned Roman Catholic and in 1617 left to serve the King of Spain. Again, however, the Clan recovered. Alastair Campbell describes the onset of the religious and civil wars in the seventeenth century. The greatest figure in Scotland then was the first Marquess of Argyll, an ardent Protestant, who was pitted against the charismatic cavalier, the Marquess of Montrose. On behalf of church and crown in Scotland each led governments and armies against one another. Montrose was executed in 1650. Argyll was similarly rewarded in 1661, and here the story ends (until volume 3) with the Clan once more imperilled by the crown.

The Clan Campbell has long been among the largest of the Scottish Highland clans as well as arguably the most powerful. Apart from the intrinsic interest of the clan Campbell, its history is inseparable from the history of Scotland. This is the first of three volumes that tells the full history of the clan in depth. The book opens with an investigation of the myths and legends that surround the traditional accounts of the origin of the clan together with a description of the wild and beautiful land of Argyll in which they settled and built up their power-base. Although already of some substance elsewhere in Scotland, the Campbells had to work hard to establish themselves among more powerful neighbours. Chief among these were Somerled's descendants, the MacDougall Lords of Argyll by whom Sir Cailean Mor Campbell was slain at the String of Lorne in 1296. When Sir Cailean Mor's cousin Robert the Bruce rewarded his loyal Campbell followers he set them on the road to success. The road was by no means a direct one: after the King's death his enemies regained much of the land he transferred to the clan. But the Campbells were by now established as a counterweight to the increasingly wayward Lords of the Isles and over the years their loyalty to the Crown was rewarded by major grants of lands and offices. These allowed the clan to flourish and to extend itself over broad areas of Scotland. As this volume closes the house of Lochawe has emerged as the chiefly line while nearly all the major branches of the clan have become established, notably the Houses of Loudoun, Glenorchy (later Breadalbane) and Cawdor. Volume One ends with the defeat of the Scottish army at Flodden where the Campbell chief together with Campbell of Glenorchy and many of the leading Campbells fell alongside their King. The story of how the clan restored its position is the subject of Volume 2. Illustrated with ten maps, a genealogy, and twenty pages of images.

Become a little expert in how the country is run! Understand why politics matters and how you can get involved with ALASTAIR CAMPBELL – writer, podcaster and strategist best known for his work as former PM Tony Blair’s spokesman. What links schools, transport and hospitals? POLITICS! Discover how and why politics is part of everything we do with writer, podcaster and strategist ALASTAIR CAMPBELL. Who is in charge? How are decisions made? What can children do to get involved? Find out all this and more – alongside accessible introductions to parliament, government, voting and debating. Packed with fun, facts and challenges – perfect for readers aged 6 to 9. Welcome to LITTLE EXPERTS – inspiring the next generation of experts! • Written by expert authors, famous for their passion and expertise • Must-read introductions to key non-fiction topics with colour illustrations throughout • Created to empower and inspire! Also available in the series: Why Money Matters by DEBORAH MEADEN, entrepreneur, Dragons' Den investor and host of the BBC Radio 5 Live’s The Big Green Money Show podcast.Marvellous Vehicles by JAMES MAY, a writer and broadcaster who is best known for co-presenting Top Gear and The Grand Tour.Amazing Bodies and How to Save a Life by DR RONX, award-winning trans non-binary emergency doctor and TV presenter.How Families Are Made by DR AMIR KHAN, an award-winning full-time GP and resident doctor on Lorraine and Good Morning Britain.How to Build a Home by GEORGE CLARKE, an architect, writer, lecturer and TV presenter.Superhero Animals by CHRIS PACKHAM CBE, one of the UK’s leading naturalists and an award-winning conservationist, who began his TV career presenting children’s series The Really Wild Show.

THE empowering intro to politics that EVERY young person needs right now from writer, podcaster and strategist ALASTAIR CAMPBELL. **Longlisted for the SLA Information Book Award 2025** Politics made fun? YES, REALLY! Writer, podcaster and strategist, Alastair Campbell, makes politics exciting, relatable and personal – AT LAST! Alastair shares his incredible knowledge and passion to empower young people and give them the skills and confidence they need to understand how the country is run, how they can get involved, encourage them to have a view, or take a stand, give them tips about how to debate, and so much more! EVERYONE should have a copy of this brilliant guide to understanding the world of politics, which is bursting with Q&As, quizzes, tips, challenges, plus quotes and interviews from a range of people, including KEIR STARMER, RORY STEWART, KEIRA KNIGHTLEY and LINDSAY HOYLE. Also available in the series: • Deborah Meaden Talks Money – ?978-0008651527

'Everything a manifesto should be: heartfelt, hectoring, impassioned, rousing.' The i__________________________________________________Your country needs you.Your planet needs you.Your time is now.Our world is a mess. It faces challenges that few are prepared to confront. It is littered with governments that lie, led by people who can’t or shouldn’t be allowed to lead. It’s no surprise, therefore, that so many of us feel angry, frustrated and let down. Yet we also feel overcome by such a sense of powerlessness that we find ourselves asking in despair, ‘But what can I do?’That question is regularly posed to Alastair Campbell, not least in reaction to The Rest Is Politics, the chart-topping podcast he presents with former Tory Cabinet minister Rory Stewart.This book is his answer.

A warmly funny, intensely moving and startlingly personal account of the lives of an urban parish priest and his parishioners. Father Alex Frost was not always a man of the cloth. He found his calling while running an Argos store in his native Burnley, moonlighting as a stand-up comedian and die-hard fan of The Clarets and Depeche Mode. But having achieved his profession, Fr Alex quickly recognised the 17,000 inhabitants of his new parish were in dire need of help. Burnley is typical of many towns across Britain: a place of run-down council estates, severe poverty litter, crime and drugs, but also a place where the sacred sits alongside the secular in an intimate and personal way. And so it was that he found himself running a food bank from a car park, helping the desperate amid his flock as the pandemic raged. Fr Alex’s down-to-earth style of ministry struck a chord with people of all faiths, cultures and class at a time when the divide between rich and poor is widening cataclysmically. But amid the tragedy, addiction, appalling loss, illness and neglect, there also lies hope, joy and moments of comedy. Our Daily Bread is as much the story of the rich cast of characters that cross the threshold of any church as it is our vicar’s. Through them it shows the continued relevance of the church for those in peril: the poor and the marginalised. This heartfelt and moving book seeks to give a voice to the voiceless, charting the tragedy and pain, humour and hope which are ever-present in his community. It is ultimately about modern poverty – and how we all can, and should, espouse Christian virtues of love, kindness, tolerance.

A warmly funny, intensely moving and startlingly personal account of the lives of an urban parish priest and his parishioners. Father Alex Frost was not always a man of the cloth. He found his calling while running an Argos store in his native Burnley, moonlighting as a stand-up comedian and die-hard fan of The Clarets and Depeche Mode. But having achieved his profession, Fr Alex quickly recognised the 17,000 inhabitants of his new parish were in dire need of help. Burnley is typical of many towns across Britain: a place of run-down council estates, severe poverty litter, crime and drugs, but also a place where the sacred sits alongside the secular in an intimate and personal way. And so it was that he found himself running a food bank from a car park, helping the desperate amid his flock as the pandemic raged. Fr Alex’s down-to-earth style of ministry struck a chord with people of all faiths, cultures and class at a time when the divide between rich and poor is widening cataclysmically. But amid the tragedy, addiction, appalling loss, illness and neglect, there also lies hope, joy and moments of comedy. Our Daily Bread is as much the story of the rich cast of characters that cross the threshold of any church as it is our vicar’s. Through them it shows the continued relevance of the church for those in peril: the poor and the marginalised. This heartfelt and moving book seeks to give a voice to the voiceless, charting the tragedy and pain, humour and hope which are ever-present in his community. It is ultimately about modern poverty – and how we all can, and should, espouse Christian virtues of love, kindness, tolerance.

'This book could save lives' STEPHEN FRY Alastair Campbell's honest, moving and life affirming account of his lifelong struggle with depression

‘If the face that Brexit Britain presents to the world today had been the face we had presented when going for the Games… no chance. In less than a decade it feels like we have taken that Olympic spirit, the mood of London 2012, and created a Britain which represents the very opposite of all it represented, and felt like, at the time.’ – Introduction, Alastair Campbell Diaries, Volume 8 It’s 2010 and Britain stands at a crossroads. After thirteen years in power, Labour find themselves out in the cold as David Cameron takes office – with a little help from the Liberal Democrats. As the country begins its journey into austerity and, eventually, to Brexit, Alastair Campbell must grapple with his own future. The Blair–Brown years are over, with the stage set for a bitter leadership contest that will test loyalties and friendships to the limit. There are battles closer to home, too, with Campbell still torn between domestic and political life while his own and his family’s mental health come under increasing strain. From the controversial Rose Garden speech, through the sunny optimism of the Olympics, to Cameron’s cavalier attitude to not one but two referendums, and culminating in the critical 2015 election, Volume 8 of Campbell’s acclaimed diaries is a must-read for anyone wondering how we got to where we are today – and how things might have been different.

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERLast Christmas I almost killed myself. Almost. I've had a lot of almosts. Never gone from almost to deed. Don't think I ever will. But it was a bad almost. Living Better is Alastair Campbell's honest, moving and life affirming account of his lifelong struggle with depression. It is an autobiographical, psychological and psychiatric study, which explores his own childhood, family and other relationships, and examines the impact of his professional and political life on himself and those around him. But it also lays bare his relentless quest to understand depression not just through his own life but through different treatments. Every bit as direct and driven, clever and candid as he is, this is a book filled with pain, but also hope -- he examines how his successes have been in part because of rather than despite his mental health problems -- and love. We all know someone with depression. There is barely a family untouched by it. We may be talking about it more than we did, back in the era of 'boys don't cry' - they did you know - and when a brave face or a stiff upper lip or a best foot forward was seen as the only way to go. But we still don't talk about it enough. There is still stigma, and shame, and taboo. There is still the feeling that admitting to being sad or anxious makes us weak. It took me years, decades even to get to this point, but I passionately believe that the reverse is true and that speaking honestly about our feelings and experiences (whether as a depressive or as the friend or relative of a depressive) is the first and best step on the road to recovery. So that is what I have tried to do here.

Last Christmas I almost killed myself. Almost. I've had a lot of almosts. Never gone from almost to deed. Don't think I ever will. But it was a bad almost. Bad. BETTER TO LIVE is Alastair Campbell's autobiographical, psychological and psychiatric study of his lifelong struggle with depression. He explores the childhood events and family relationships that have gone on to echo through his political career and private life. Every bit as direct and driven, clever and candid as he is, his quest to get to the bottom of his depression and its treatment animates an inspiring and uplifting book that really could save lives.We all know someone with depression. There is barely a family untouched by it. We may be talking about it more than we did, back in the era of 'boys don't cry' - they did you know - and when a brave face or a stiff upper lip or a best foot forward was seen as the only way to go. But we still don't talk about it enough. There is still stigma, and shame, and taboo. There is still the feeling that admitting to being sad or anxious makes us weak. It took me years, decades even to get to this point, but I passionately believe that the reverse is true and that speaking honestly about our feelings and experiences (whether as a depressive or as the friend or relative of a depressive) is the first and best step on the road to recovery. So that is what I have tried to do here.

Caught in the no man's land between being a key figure in Downing Street and the relative anonymity of the world outside politics, Alastair Campbell finds himself being torn in several directions. Having succeeded Tony Blair as Prime Minister, Gordon Brown wants Campbell at his side. Campbell resists, flooding his reservoir of guilt as a general election looms and Brown's indecision and fluctuating moods suggest the Labour administration is seriously threatened by the Tory `posh boy', David Cameron. Soon Campbell is earning not only praise but big money from motivational speaking and writing novels which darkly reflect the personal mood swings that continue to concern to both him and his family. Serious journalism across platforms old and new puts him back in the public eye and together with live appearances and a love of sport - his enduring love affair with Burnley Football Club still smoulders - sees him board a celebrity merry-go-round that often leaves him far from his comfort zone. With politics constantly tugging his sleeve, he eventually returns to the front line to marshal a party in disarray. The intensity of the months leading up to 6 May 2010 is as dramatic as any screenplay, with Campbell chronicling Brown's struggle to win over a disillusioned nation and then his dignified departure from the main stage. For Campbell, another chapter closes. So what next?

Football manager Charlie Gordon is struggling with one defeat after another at the club he loves. Only a decent Cup run is keeping him in work, but tensions are running close to the surface ahead of the next round: Chelsea away. Footballers fall into two categories: artists or assassins. Soon Charlie is going to find out which players can deliver - and just how much pressure they can all stand.Meanwhile, as the country prepares for a general election, one of the most dangerous political assassinations in the IRA's history is being planned in London. An active service unit await the critical signal to proceed...Both sides will converge on the capital for a result that will shake everyone's lives, with consequences far beyond football.

After helping Tony Blair to secure a historic third term in office, Alastair Campbell might have hoped to make good his long-planned escape from Downing Street. Blair, and Gordon Brown, had other ideas. Having negotiated Brown’s pivotal role in the 2005 election victory, Campbell then became fundamental in the transition from one Prime Minister to another. As this volume opens, Blair’s joy at his election victory is short-lived and he knows he is running out of road. By the volume’s close, two years later, Brown is Prime Minister – and leaning on Campbell almost as much as Blair had done. Meanwhile, a fresh-faced young PR man named David Cameron becomes the new Leader of the Opposition and struggles to unite his party over Europe. Beyond Westminster, a psychiatrist enters Campbell’s life; we follow his attempts to rebuild a normal family life, and a plethora of new challenges, from advising the British and Irish Lions to playing a charity match with footballing legend Diego Maradona. Packed with revelations, this latest instalment in the bestselling and critically acclaimed series of diaries is an intimate account of the last days of the Blair government, and the power struggles along the way.

Bioethics: The Basics is an introduction to the foundational principles, theories and issues in the study of medical and biological ethics. Readers are introduced to bioethics from the ground up before being invited to consider some of the most controversial but important questions facing us today. Topics addressed include:the range of moral theories underpinning bioethics arguments for the rights and wrongs of abortion, euthanasia and animal research health care ethics including the nature of the practitioner-patient relationship public policy ethics and the implications of global and public health‘3 parents’, enhancement, incidental findings and nudge approaches in health care. This thoroughly revised second edition provides a concise, readable and authoritative introduction for anyone interested in the study of bioethics.

Bioethics: The Basics is an introduction to the foundational principles, theories and issues in the study of medical and biological ethics. Readers are introduced to bioethics from the ground up before being invited to consider some of the most controversial but important questions facing us today. Topics addressed include:the range of moral theories underpinning bioethics arguments for the rights and wrongs of abortion, euthanasia and animal research health care ethics including the nature of the practitioner-patient relationship public policy ethics and the implications of global and public health‘3 parents’, enhancement, incidental findings and nudge approaches in health care. This thoroughly revised second edition provides a concise, readable and authoritative introduction for anyone interested in the study of bioethics.