Bob Holman has written a very readable and heart-warming account of that rarest of rare beings: a courageous and incorruptible politician who dedicated his life to bettering the wretched lot of the working man and woman. For many Holman’s description of the working conditions and pay of the majority in those not so distant days will be almost beyond comprehension. The emphasis he places on Hardie’s Christianity as the driving force behind his lifelong mission is to be commended. It stands in stark contrast to the Christianity of the wealthy industrialists with whom he had to contend. Holman succeeds quite brilliantly in bringing Keir Hardie and his world to life. Hard-hearted will be the reader who does not feel gratitude to a man who enjoys a deserved prominence in the ranks of those who shaped the vast improvement in the working conditions and prosperity claimed as a right by today’s workers. Keir Hardie, Labour’s Greatest Hero? is a must-read for all who have an interest in social history.