The Reluctant Press Lord

This second volume tracing the history of the Daily Mail follows the fortunes of the paper after the second Lord Rothermere took over from his fascist father. In 1940, at the time of Lord Rothermere's inheritance, rationing had reduced production to eight pages an issue, the shadow of his father's flirtation with fascism hung over the paper, and Beaverbrook's "Daily Express" was leaping ahead in circulation. These were trying times, but the paper managed to survive the war despite - ironically - having several printing plants bombed by the Nazis. Its post-war fortunes were hampered by increasing interference from Rothermere's second wife, coupled with a succession of poorly-chosen editors. The author recounts all of this and more, in a biography of a press baron that is as much a story about the newspaper he led.