If politics are of no interest to you whatsoever, then this very readable biography of David Butler is not for you. Written with the cooperation of the subject, but not uncritical, it reveals that there is more to Butler than the invention of the swingometer. He did not coin the term "psephologist", however. Crick goes into the history of the word, including a surprising link to the Inklings. Butler did give wider currency to the term, though, including introducing it to America.
The big revelation to me was that Butler was more than an expert in front of the cameras on election nights. Together with the formidable Grace Wyndham Goldie, he defined the presentation and to some extent the production of the BBC results programmes.
For me, another item of interest was the light that Butler's reminiscences shone on the mature thinking of Winston Churchill, with whom he had two long conversations.
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