Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

As the party that has won wars, reversed recessions and held prime ministerial power more times than any other, the Conservatives have played an undoubtedly crucial role in the shaping of contemporary British society. And yet, the leaders who have stood at its helm - from Sir Robert Peel to David Cameron, via Benjamin Disraeli, Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher - have steered the party vessel with enormously varying degrees of success.;With the widening of the franchise, revolutionary changes to social values and the growing ubiquity of the media, the requirements, techniques and goals of Conservative leadership since the party's nineteenth-century factional breakaway have been forced to evolve almost beyond recognition - and not all its leaders have managed to keep up.;This comprehensive and enlightening book considers the attributes and achievements of each leader in the context of their respective time and diplomatic landscape, offering a compelling analytical framework by which they may be judged, detailed personal biographies from some of the country's foremost political critics, and exclusive interviews with former leaders themselves.; An indispensable contribution to the study of party leadership, British Conservative Leaders is the essential guide to understanding British political history and governance through the prism of those who created it.;Contributing authors include Matthew d'Ancona, Tim Bale, Stuart Ball, Jim Buller, John Campbell, John Charmley, Charles Clarke, Mark Davies, Patrick Diamond, David Dutton, Dr Mark Garnett, Richard A. Gaunt, William Hague, Angus Hawkins, Timothy Heppell, Andrew Holt, Michael Howard, Toby S. James, Nigel Keohane, Jo-Anne Nadler, T. G. Otte, Anne Perkins, Robert Saunders, Anthony Seldon, Andrew Taylor, D. R. Thorpe and Alan Wager.

Sarah Levin Cisneros returns from her honeymoon to face a quandary: should she continue school and pursue a career as an advocate of human rights, or should she relegate her life to being Charro Cisneros' wife, raise a family, and settle into the comforts of living as the matron of the gigantic Dos Encinos Ranch? Luisa, wife of Charro's partner, Carlos Resendez, encourages Sarah to do both. After graduation, Sarah becomes a contributing editor to the San Antonio Express newspaper. Her controversial articles, strongly flavored with women's rights issues, make Sarah a popular figure among women's rights activists and suffragists. In an effort to demonstrate to the people of Texas that women are capable of being more than mothers and homemakers, Sarah participates as a working vaquero on a perilous cattle drive. Childbirth burdens Sarah's already packed schedule of writing, speaking, and promoting the suffrage movement. But while she is away, a tragedy at home rekindles her dilemma. Guilt-ridden from her self-perceived negligence as a wife and mother, should Sarah continue her leadership role as a women's rights activist, or should she return to Dos Encinos to solely be Mrs.

When Dr. Noah Spencer retires from private practice to accept a job offer from his longtime friend and protege, Steve Nesbitt, Noah can't begin to imagine what's ahead. In his new position as medical director of Salyer Medical Center, Noah discovers shocking irregularities in the hospital's quality-management reporting. And he finds Steve's indifferent attitude toward below-standard performance to be unusual and disturbing. Steve becomes deeply indebted to a Mafia-owned casino and attempts to climb out of his cash-shortage quandary by accepting kickbacks. The fact that he is blatantly betraying his hospital weighs heavily on Steve's mind. When he is pressured by the Mafia to participate in a money-laundering scheme, he decides to break his ties with them. Now privy to the illicit operation of the Mafia, Steve becomes a target for silencing. link exists between Steve's gambling problems and the quality issues at the hospital. Eager to help, Noah and his wife become embroiled in a sequence of events with Steve and his wife that threatens to entangle them in the FBI's testosterone-driven investigation of a corrupt underworld organization.