This is the first full-length biography of Richard Titmuss, a pioneer of social policy research and an influential figure in Britain's post-war welfare debates.

Drawing on his own papers, publications, and interviews with those who knew him, the book discusses Titmuss's ideas, particularly those around the principles of altruism and social solidarity, as well as his role in policy and academic networks at home and overseas. It is an enlightening portrait of a man who deepened our understanding of social problems as well as the policies that respond most effectively to them.