“Olof Ruin's Tage Erlander: Serving the Welfare State, 1946-1969 is both a political biography of Sweden's longest serving prime minister and a history of the golden age of the Swedish welfare state--and perhaps that of Swedish Social Democracy as well. Based on Erlander's diaries, correspondence, speeches, and interviews, this well-crafted volume demonstrates that political scientists can write good history.”
—Scandinavian Studies

“Tage Erlander was a central, if not the central, figure in the formation of the postwar Swedish welfare state. . . . Olof Ruin has written an engaging and affectionate biography of Erlander that has been extremely well translated into English by Michael Metcalf. The biography tells a great deal about Erlander, but it also tells a great deal about governing Sweden and about the task of governing more generally. Ruin's book is required reading for students of Swedish politics, as well as for students of the executive branch of government.”
—Governance

“This is an authoritative biography of Sweden's 'longest prime minister'-six foot four, and twenty-three years continuously in charge. . . . A sympathetic but not adulatory portrait, professionally structured around the various roles which Erlander has to play. . . . A very readable study of an extraordinarily successful politician.”
—Political Studies