At war with Waugh

History, both political and literary, was made when W.F. Deedes met Evelyn Waugh in 1935. Both were in Abyssinia to cover a war, and While Deedes was principally concerned with filing copy to London, the author of Brideshead Revisited had another agenda and another novel in mind, Scoop. As Waugh drank, played poker, and observed hacks in seedy hotel bars in Addis Ababa, he focussed on one young reporter. In this memoir, Deedes considers that "little" war and its importance with hindsight, while offering unique memories of his difficult companion.

Bill Deedes is the only person ever to have been both a Cabinet Minister and a national newspaper editor. He was a minister in Harold Macmillan's administration and later became Editor of the Daily Telegraph.