Fighting for Life

'Passionate, deeply researched and page-turningly full of good stories, this is so good one is tempted to say it is the book the NHS has always deserved' Andrew MarrA gripping, provocative exploration of the National Health Service, told through the most critical moments in its history, and published for the 75th anniversary of its foundationEndless A&E waiting times. Nurses' strikes. Delayed operations. In its 75th year, the National Health Service is arguably facing its most challenging battles yet. Since its foundation in 1948, it has been a cornerstone of British life, making history again and again - from the first 'test tube baby', to the Coronavirus crisis. Meanwhile, the NHS has also become a battleground for some of the fiercest political contests of our time, perceived either as a national treasure that needs to be preserved at all costs, or as a lumbering piece of state machinery in need of renovation.In Fighting for Life, award-winning journalist Isabel Hardman tells the gripping story of a beloved institution through the people who keep it alive - its nurses, its doctors, its patients and the politicians who decide its fate. Drawing on interviews with key decision-makers, from former Prime Ministers and Health Secretaries to NHS bosses, as well as access to the patients and keyworkers at the beating heart of the health service, she reveals with trademark incisiveness a chequered history that is by turns uplifting and alarming.Cutting through sentimentality and sloganeering on all sides of the political spectrum, Hardman shows us how our NHS really works, and what it means for our future.