David Powell is a former journalist and prolific writer who has worked for Reuters and BBC Radio 4. His documentary Faces in a Crowd won a Grand Prix award at the Venice Film Festival. Tony Benn, born in London in 1925, is a former cabinet minister and Chairman of the Labour Party. He served as an MP for over fifty years and is the author of fifteen books, including his published diaries covering the period 1940-2001.

"Britain is the traditional land of dissent, of dissent not only in its religious connotation but of dissent itself." John Strachey"

• Introduction by Tony Benn; 1. Who was then the gentleman?; 2. The Army of England's Commonwealth; 3. The Age of Revolution; 4. 'Cogs Tyrannical'; 5. 'Some new Reformation'; 6. A Brave New World?; 7. Two Cheers for Democracy.