When Michael Heseltine wrote his acclaimed autobiography, Life in the Jungle, he assumed his political career was over. He returned to Haymarket, his publishing business, and intended to explore more of the world and pursue his passions outside politics. The assumption was wrong. David Cameron called him, tentatively at first but gradually with increased responsibility, back to the corridors of power. This second memoir is a potpourri of reminiscences of Heseltine's youth and early adulthood, the story since Life in the Jungle left off in 2000 and previously unexplored aspects of his stellar political career. But the main reason for Heseltine taking up his pen again has been to look back on the fundamental changes he was able to mastermind while in government and to set out the policies that are urgently needed to unite the country by driving growth, increasing prosperity and restoring hope. He combines this with an up-to-date examination of the seismic Westland affair, the scandal that caused him to resign from Margaret Thatcher's Cabinet amid an establishment cover-up, and a damning assessment of what he considers the grievous act of self-harm inflicted on Britain by Brexit. This extraordinary new memoir offers an urgent agenda to rebuild Britain from one of our last great statesmen, who has been at the forefront of business and politics for the past sixty years.

Lord Heseltine was a Member of Parliament 1966-2001. He was a Cabinet minister in various departments 1979-86 and 1990-97. He was Deputy Prime Minister 1995-97. He is founder of the Haymarket Group, a privately owned media company. In 2015, Lord Heseltine was appointed by the government as an adviser to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. Within this remit, he was chair of the Thames Estuary 2050 Growth Commission and co-chair of the Estate Regeneration Advisory Panel. His work for the government came to an end in 2017. In 2018, he published his reply to the government's industrial strategy green paper, titled 'Industrial Strategy', and most recently published a report on devolution, 'Empowering English Cities'. He was president of the European Movement from June 2019 to November 2024. Lord Heseltine is also the author of his political autobiography, Life in the Jungle, and books on Europe. His latest book, Thenford: The Creation of an English Garden, was co-written with Lady Heseltine and published in October 2016. Lord Heseltine is an enthusiastic gardener and is a vice-president of the Royal Horticultural Society.