Don't Let My Past Be Your Future: A Call to Arms - Hardcover

This is a heartfelt, important work which stands both as a fine memoir and a warning to those who have not experienced first-hand the dark and difficult times that shaped the life of author. Harry Leslie Smith is deeply articulate, his words are moving and powerful, and his voice is authentic and sincere. Everyone under 95 should take heed!―Joanne Harris

Harry and I were born 50 years apart, in the same town, to the same stock of hardworking Barnsley miners which is why I jumped at the chance to read his stark warning to our current and forthcoming generations. After enduring a heart breaking struggle, Harry has sought to turn the life of extreme hardship he endured into something positive and this book is exactly that. Holding up a mirror between then and now, it deftly compares our current existence with the one our ancestors trod and horrifically we are not a million miles away from each other. This is our chance to momentarily walk in the footsteps of those who trod before us and prevent the repetition that history so eagerly desires.

Coming from a genuine position of concern, this is an incredibly important book written by one of the last remaining voices of those times. It should be studied and its message heeded because, if we ignore Harry's past, our future may well return to those dark days.

―Shaun Dooley

This is a wonderful book and a timely reminder that so much of the progress we take for granted came not from the benevolence of the great and good, but from the collective struggles of previous generations of working people. At a time when the need for decent jobs, homes, rights and services is more pressing than ever, Don't Let My Past Be Your Future is a must read for trade unionists, campaigners and everyone on the left.―Frances O?Grady, General Secretary, Trades Union Congress

This is a powerful and deeply moving personal memoir of a Dickensian-like childhood shaped by hunger, suffering and family despair in pre-war Britain. As today's world drifts back towards the extreme inequality that marked Harry Leslie Smith's childhood, we would be crazy to ignore his stirring call-to-arms in defence of the welfare state.―Linda McQuaig

Wonderful, impassioned . . . important―Rick O'Shea

Utterly compelling . . . measured but unflinching . . . the clear-sighted power of his writing is something that all of us should pay heed to and its call is one we must answer―Unison

Told with passion and eloquence, Mr Smith's personal story of growing up in a time without social services is a stark reminder of how close we may be (in the UK and the US) to consigning millions of people to a life of abject misery for no other reason than they were born poor.―Gale Anne Hurd, producer of The Walking Dead

Through reflecting on his own experiences during his childhood, Harry Leslie Smith has painted a frank and uncompromising picture of the grim, appallingly miserable childhood he had to endure due to the poverty faced by his family contrasted with the, shamefully still, grim and miserable lives many people endure today in a country ravaged by cuts, austerity and political turmoil . . . The strength of Smith's work is in his deftly woven narrative which features examples from his past, contrasted with the experiences of those living in poverty today, effectively highlighting how far we have sunk back into the cesspit of greed and injustice. It is also a testament to Smith that he manages to uplift as well as horrify the reader, particularly when discussing his own route out of the wretchedness of his situation―The Book Bag

Through reading Harry's words, I feel as if I am walking the bridge between his generation and my own. His experiences as a child in the Great Depression highlight the dangerous times we now live in - in which the destruction of the NHS and welfare state risk dragging us back to a Britain of the 1930s. Harry's work to defend and champion our public services is something I am endlessly grateful for. He is an inspiration―Emily Berrington

Harry has lived through the Great Depression, World War 2, and has borne witness to many of our world's greatest economic, social and cultural conflicts. He's an ordinary man, who has lived through extraordinary times, and brings his experiences of life forward with breath-taking lucidity and ability. His words are not a reflection on history, but a warning that history may be about to repeat itself. A brilliant book, by a brilliant man―Professor Vikas S. Shah, FRSA