Anthony Terrell Seward Sampson (3 August 1926 – 18 December 2004) was a British writer and journalist. His most notable and successful book was '' Anatomy of Britain'', which was published in 1962 and was followed by five more "Anatomies", updating the original book under various titles. He was the grandson of the linguist John Sampson, of whom he wrote a

biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or c ...

, ''The Scholar Gypsy: The Quest For A Family Secret'' (1997). He also gave

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African anti-apartheid activist who served as the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black head of state and the ...

advice on Mandela's famous 1964 defence speech at the trial which led to his conviction for life.

Biography

Sampson was born in

Billingham Billingham is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, England. The town is on the north side of the River Tees and is governed by Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council. The settlement had previously formed i ...

, County Durham, and was educated at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

. In 1944 he joined the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

, and by the time he left, in 1947, he was a sub-lieutenant in the RN Volunteer Reserve. He then studied English at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniq ...

. He married Sally on his return from

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

. She was a Justice of the Peace and was a bench chairman of the Youth Court at Camberwell.

Career

In 1951 Sampson went to

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a Megacity#List of megacities, megacity, and is List of urban areas by p ...

, South Africa, to become editor of the magazine ''

Drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...

'', remaining there for four years. After his return to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

, he joined the editorial staff of ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...

'', where he worked from 1955 to 1966. He was the author of a series of books, starting with '' Anatomy of Britain'' (1962), in which he explored the workings of the British state and other major social institutions, in particular the large corporation. He took an interest in broad political and economic power structures, but he also saw power as personal. He occasionally offered

psychoanalytical PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: + . is a set of theories and therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a body of knowledge. In what might ...

interpretations of power players, as in this passage from ''The Money Lenders'':

" ankersseem specially conscious of time, always aware that time is money. There is always a sense of restraint and tension. (Is it part of the connection which Freud observed between compulsive neatness, anal eroticism and interest in money?)"

Sampson was a personal friend of

before Mandela became politically active. In 1964 Sampson attended the

Rivonia Trial The Rivonia Trial took place in South Africa between 9 October 1963 and 12 June 1964, and led to the imprisonment of Nelson Mandela and the others among the accused who were convicted of sabotage and sentenced to life at the Palace of Justic ...

in support of Mandela and other ANC leaders, and in 1999 he published the authorised biography of Mandela. Sampson was also a founding member of the now defunct

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...

(SDP). Sampson's personal archive, catalogued by the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the sec ...

, was made public for the first time in 2012.

Bibliography

Books

* *''Drum: the Making of a Magazine.'' Johannesburg: Jonathan Ball Publishers, 2005. . *''The Treason Cage'' (1958) * ''

Common Sense About Africa The Common Sense series included thirteen political books published by Victor Gollancz Ltd in the United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in ...

'' (1960) * ''Anatomy of Britain'' (1962
online free
* ''Anatomy of Britain Today'' (1965) * ''Macmillan: A Study in Ambiguity'' (1967) * ''The New Europeans. A guide to the workings, institutions and character of contemporary Western Europe'' (1968) * ''The New Anatomy of Britain'' (1971
online free
* ''

The Sovereign State of ITT ''The Sovereign State: The Secret History of International Telephone and Telegraph'' is a non-fiction book by Anthony Sampson published on July 1, 1973, by Hodder & Stoughton Ltd. The book focuses on the history of ITT Corporation to make a broade ...

'' (1973) * ''The Seven Sisters'' (a study of the international oil industry) (1974, ) * ''Serpico'' (with Peter Maas) (1976) * ''

The Arms Bazaar ''The Arms Bazaar: From Lebanon to Lockheed'' is an investigation and anatomical study of the international arms trade by Anthony Sampson (1926–2004). Overview The book was published in 1977. Sampson describes how the "defence industry" grew un ...

'' (a study of the international arms trade) (1977) * ''

The Money Lenders ''The Money Lenders'' is a 1981 book on finance by British journalist Anthony Sampson. It looks at the history of banking from the Renaissance to a meeting of the International Monetary Fund in Washington, D.C. in 1980, with an emphasis on the inte ...

'' (a study of international banking) (1981) * ''The Changing Anatomy of Britain'' (1982) * '' Black Gold'' (a novel about the crumbling of

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

and the business/financial picture in South Africa) (1987) * ''The Midas Touch'' (a study of money, book and TV series) (1989, or 0-563-20853-8 (BBC)) * ''The Essential Anatomy of Britain: Democracy in Crisis'' (1992
online free
* ''Company Man'' (a study of corporate life) (1995) * ''The Scholar Gypsy: The Quest for a Family Secret'' (1997) * '' Mandela: The Authorised Biography'' (1999), winner of the

Alan Paton Award The ''Sunday Times'' CNA Literary Awards are awarded annually to South African writers by the South African weekly newspaper the ''Sunday Times''. They comprise the ''Sunday Times'' CNA Literary Award for Non-fiction and the ''Sunday Times'' ...

* '' Who Runs This Place?: The Anatomy of Britain in the 21st Century'' (2004) * ''The Anatomist'' (his autobiography, prepared for publication by his widow and family) (2008)

Critical studies, reviews and biography

* Review of ''Company man''.

References

External links

John Thompson, "Anthony Sampson" (obituary)
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'', 21 December 2004.
Anthony Sampson's resume
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sampson, Anthony 1926 births 2004 deaths British foreign policy writers British male journalists British non-fiction writers People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Recipients of the Order of the Companions of O. R. Tambo People from Billingham Members of the Order of Luthuli 20th-century non-fiction writers Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Royal Navy officers of World War II