Ministry of enthusiasm - Centenary essays on the Workers' Educational Association

Edited by Stephen Roberts, Pluto Press, 326 pages, paperback, £16.99

This publication marks the centenary of the formation of the Workers' Educational Association (WEA) founded in 1903. At a time when the school-leaving age was 14, its aim was to provide working people - mostly manual workers - with opportunities for further education, mainly through universities.

The message was spread through various parts of the country and, by 1914, it had 179 branches and 11,500 individual members.

This book traces the experiences of the organisation right up to the present day.

It describes the support received from the trade union movement and from local councillors, the subjects chosen to be taught and how the movement has been funded, among other things. There are special chapters on the WEA's evolution in the West Midlands, in Scotland and in Wales.

The publication contains an enthusiastic foreword by prime minister Tony Blair.