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About The UnionFor almost two hundred years, the Cambridge Union Society has stood as a vibrant centre of debate and free speech in British intellectual life. The Society is fiercely independent and has often been at the centre of controversy; shortly after its founding in 1815 it was temporarily closed down by the University for being too contentious. With its own bar, library and cinema facilities, it has become an integral part of student life in Cambridge. Inside this section: Contact | Who's Who | Getting Involved | The Constitution | Our Buildings | Photo Gallery | Frequently Asked Questions | Our Guest Policy | Society Minutes | Event Recordings | Arena of Ambition: A History of the Cambridge Union | |
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Arena of Ambition: A History of the Cambridge UnionMore
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Arena of Ambition:A History of the Cambridge Unionby Stephen ParkinsonWith a foreword by HRH The Prince of Wales and recollections by a series of ex-Presidents including Douglas Hurd, Michael Howard, Norman Lamont, Arianna Huffington, and Peter Bazalgette.
'A hugely impressive history of the Cambridge Union;
scholarly, nuanced and well written, with a perceptible fondness
for the institution ... this fine book will amuse and
instruct'
'At Cambridge you worshipped, you reviled or you ignored
the Union - or it scared you (and me) witless. But you never
learned about its origins and history. Stephen Parkinson has done
this for us, producing a book that's informative and respectful
without being fawning or pompous. It's a good read, as well as
good history.'
Ex-Presidents have included John Maynard Keynes, Rab Butler, Robert Harris, Ken Clarke and Arianna Huffington - as well as an Olympic medallist, an Oscar nominee and two winners of the Nobel Peace Prize. Generations of undergraduates have flocked to its celebrated debating chamber and spoken as equals with its distinguished guests - Prime Ministers like Baldwin and Churchill, Presidents like Roosevelt and Reagan, and controversial figures like Oswald Mosley and Enoch Powell. Stephen Parkinson, an ex-President of the Society, charts the history of the Union from its nineteenth-century origins, focusing particularly on the turbulent Second World War and post-war years - during which the Union building was hit by a German bomb and commandeered by the army, future Cabinet ministers fell out over bitterly contested elections, and controversies raged about the admission of women and the place of such an apparently antiquated club in a modern university. It is the story of a student society like no other. Arena of Ambition is published by Icon Books and available now in all good bookshops. Order your copy direct now at the special price of £20, including free P&P in the UK.Call TBS Distribution on 01206 255800 quoting 'Union / Arena' and pay with any major credit card. (Please call TBS on the same number to ask about overseas shipping prices. Other queries to info@iconbooks.co.uk) Alternatively, buy the book from these online retailers: |
Older than fourteen colleges and the Boat
Race, the Cambridge Union has been an important part of university
life at Cambridge since its foundation in 1815.
