Know the Truth - Tapa dura

The Archbishop of Canterbury recalls his life and his spiritual quest.

This remarkable and candid memoir marks the first time in history that an Archbishop of Canterbury has written his autobiography; it tells George Carey's story from growing up in Dagenham to his experiences in the RAF in the early fifties, of how he was to become Bishop of Bath and Wells and thereafter attained the position of Archbishop of Canterbury itself. Know The Truth tells in detail of the challenges that awaited George Carey in his archbishopric, such as the controversial ordination of women priests, and of his involvement with all the prominent personalities of the day in government, in the Royal Family, and around the world.
Dr Carey’s memoir provides a unique and fascinating insight; a view from the bridge, so to speak, into what it is like to hold one of the great – and nowadays one of the most sensitive – offices in the country, to head a church of 400 million people worldwide and to bring both leadership and diplomacy to such a public role during very challenging times.

George Carey was born in 1935 in the East End of London, the son of porter. After failing his 11-plus he left school at 15, and began working at the London Electricity Board as an office boy and served with the British armed forces in Iraq in the 1950s. By the time he was 20, he had decided he wanted to be ordained. After positions as parish priest and Bishop of Bath and Wells, he became the 103rd Archbishop of Canterbury and served in office from 1991-2003.