Robert Lacey
Encyclopedia
Robert Lacey is a British historian and biographer. He is the author of a number of bestselling biographies, including those of Henry Ford
and Queen Elizabeth II, as well as works of popular history.
Lacey’s 1981 work The Kingdom and its 2009 follow-up Inside the Kingdom have now both been cited as standard study texts for the diplomatic community working inside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This has led to Lacey being employed by American Television networks, ABC
and PBS
as a commentator on the subject.
In 2009 Lacey made the controversial documentary “Rehab for Terrorists?: Can terrorists be rehabilitated with kindness?” for the ‘Now’ show for the PBS channel.
Lacey is also ABC's Good Morning America
Royal commentator and was in London for the channel covering the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. He was also seen on the BBC
’s late evening coverage of the event. David Brancaccio
said: "In Saudi Arabia, Robert Lacey had the kind of access most journalists only dream of."
Lacey is an alumnus of Bristol Grammar School
and a graduate of Selwyn College
in the University of Cambridge
. He began his writing career as a journalist on the Illustrated London News
, and later The Sunday Times
.
Henry Ford
Henry Ford was an American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry...
and Queen Elizabeth II, as well as works of popular history.
Lacey’s 1981 work The Kingdom and its 2009 follow-up Inside the Kingdom have now both been cited as standard study texts for the diplomatic community working inside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This has led to Lacey being employed by American Television networks, ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
and PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
as a commentator on the subject.
In 2009 Lacey made the controversial documentary “Rehab for Terrorists?: Can terrorists be rehabilitated with kindness?” for the ‘Now’ show for the PBS channel.
Lacey is also ABC's Good Morning America
Good Morning America
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
Royal commentator and was in London for the channel covering the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. He was also seen on the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
’s late evening coverage of the event. David Brancaccio
David Brancaccio
David A. Brancaccio is an American radio and television journalist. He has been the host of the public radio business program Marketplace and the PBS newsmagazine NOW.-Early years:...
said: "In Saudi Arabia, Robert Lacey had the kind of access most journalists only dream of."
Lacey is an alumnus of Bristol Grammar School
Bristol Grammar School
Bristol Grammar School is a co-educational independent school in Clifton, Bristol, England. The school was founded in 1532 by two brothers, Robert and Nicholas Thorne....
and a graduate of Selwyn College
Selwyn College, Cambridge
Selwyn College is a constituent college in the University of Cambridge in England, United Kingdom.The college was founded by the Selwyn Memorial Committee in memory of the Rt Reverend George Selwyn , who rowed on the Cambridge crew in the first Varsity Boat Race in 1829, and went on to become the...
in the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
. He began his writing career as a journalist on the Illustrated London News
Illustrated London News
The Illustrated London News was the world's first illustrated weekly newspaper; the first issue appeared on Saturday 14 May 1842. It was published weekly until 1971 and then increasingly less frequently until publication ceased in 2003.-History:...
, and later The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
.
Works
- Robert, Earl of Essex (1971)
- Henry VIII (1972)
- Majesty (1977)
- The Kingdom (1981), History of Saudi Arabia to 1979.
- Aristocrats (1983)
- Ford (1986)
- Little Man: Meyer Lansky and the Gangster Life (1991)
- Grace (1994)
- The Year 1000: What Life Was Like at the Turn of the First Millennium (1999, with Danny Danziger)
- Royal (2002)
- Monarch, Life and Reign of Elizabeth II (2002)
- Great Tales from British History, Volume 1 (2003)
- Great Tales from British History, Volume 2 (2005)
- Great Tales from British History, Volume 3 (2006)
- Inside the Kingdom (2009), History of Saudi Arabia from 1979 to date.