Sir Joseph Ward (1856-1930) was the leading political figure during the forty-year life of the Liberal Party in New Zealand. He was a member of Ballance's first Cabinet, twice Prime Minister and was still a Cabinet Minister at the time of his death in 1930. This lively biography is the story of an ambitious first-generation New Zealander of Irish Catholic parents who spent more than half a century in local and central government politics, influencing the directions taken in many areas of New Zealand life. It contains much new material about Ward's private business dealings, his flourishing Southland company, his bankruptcy and his remarkable rehabilitation. Michael Bassett reveals a genial, courteous, fast-talking man of vision who had nevertheless some difficulty adapting to a changing world; and he writes with the rare insight into political life of a former political practitioner.