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Ludo and the Power of the Book

ebook / ISBN-13: 9781472109095

Price: £20

ON SALE: 23rd February 2017

Genre: Biography & True Stories / Biography: General

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Paperback

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‘Stirring’ Roger Lewis, Daily Mail, BOOK OF THE WEEK

‘A warm and worthy tribute’ The Times

‘Elegantly written, thought-provoking’ The Lady

‘A lucid and affectionate portrait of one of the great journalists of his day’ Observer

Sir Ludovic Kennedy was a British journalist, television personality, humanist and author. Following a brief naval career, Ludo devoted his life to what he referred to as his ‘lifelong obsession with miscarriages of justice’ and he fought this cause tirelessly, until he died in 2009.

He is best known for re-examining cases such as the kidnapping of American toddler Charles Lindbergh, about which he wrote his most ambitious book on injustice, The Airman and the Carpenter. Ludo’s writings and work on other cases such as the murder convictions of Timothy Evans and Derek Bentley were unique in that they often dispelled the breeding ground for conspiracy theories and regularly heralded dramatic changes of public opinion. Ludo is considered to be hugely influential in the abolition of the death penalty in the UK as well as other legal reforms, most notably the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (1984) which obligated police to tape-record the questioning of suspects. His life story is one that deserves to be remembered and celebrated.

Richard Ingrams first met Ludovic Kennedy in 1963 and the pair quickly bonded over their shared goal of exposing the fallible nature of the British justice system. Ingrams interweaves this biography with detailed analysis of the cases to which Ludo dedicated his life, vividly recapturing the spirit of his friend and colleague.

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Reviews

A lucid and affectionate portrait of one of the great journalists of his day
Observer
A worthy memorial to a man whose campaigning against injustices was, probably more than any other single influence, responsible for the abolition of the death penalty in Britain
Stephen Bates, Literary Review
A warm and worthy tribute
The Times
Ingrams' book is an indictment of the legal establishment as it was and a powerful justification for investigative writing
Stephen Halliday, Times Higher Education Supplement
Stirring
Roger Lewis, Daily Mail
It has a dogged sense of justice, and is an astounding tale of judicial bigotry, arrogant stupidity and complacence
Richard Davenport-Hines, The Oldie
Elegantly written, thought-provoking
Rebecca Wallersteiner, The Lady
An important book
Bob Woffinden, Catholic Herald