As well as being a distinguished columnist for The Times (of London), David Aaronovitch and his parents were card-carrying members of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB). His autobiography thus offers a fascinating insight into how the organization deluded itself into swallowing every lie peddled by the Kremlin, from the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact in 1939 to the invasion of Hungary in 1956 and the suppression of the Prague Spring in 1968. Almost every contradictory twist and turn of Soviet policy was accepted by King Street, the Party's fortress-like headquarters in Covent Garden, and repackaged for unquestioning consumption by the numerous branches across the country. David's father, Sam Aaronovitch, was a paid Party organizer, while his wife Lavender tried to overlook his marital infidelities and bring up a hideously dysfunctional family in which ideology, sacrifice, and loyalty to the St Pancras branch comrades came before physical comfort. With a background dominated by marches, campaigns, and protests, David was a natural for sit-ins, occupations, and demonstrations with fellow radicals.
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