A significant figure in post-war British politics, as Minister for National Insurance in the Atlee government, James Griffiths introduced the Family Allowance in 1946, became Secretary of State for the Colonies in 1950, Chairman and then Deputy Leader of the Labour Party before becoming the first Secretary of State for Wales in 1964.

A product of the Welsh radical tradition - forged in the coalfields and nonconformist chapels - James Griffiths became a miner at 13 and was a conscientious objector during the First World War. A talented, hard-working and charismatic leader, he become President of the South Wales Miner's Federation before being elected the Labour MP for Llanelli in 1936, a seat he held for 34 years.

In this, the first full-length biography of James Griffiths in English, the respected historian Dr D Ben Rees provides a comprehensive yet very accessible and personal study of one of the towering figures of twentieth-century Welsh and British politics.