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Tony Blair is a politician who defines our times. His emergence as Labour Party leader in 1994 marked a seismic shift in British politics. Within a few short years, he had transformed his party and rallied the country behind him, becoming prime minister in 1997 with the biggest victory in Labour's history, and bringing to an end eighteen years of Conservative government. He took Labour to a historic three terms in office as Britain's dominant political figure of the last two decades. In this firsthand account, he describes his role in shaping our recent history, from the aftermath of Princess Diana's death to the War on Terror. He explores the challenges of leadership, and the ramifications of standing up, clearly and forcefully, for what one believes in. He also looks ahead, to emerging power relationships and economies, addressing the vital issues and complexities of our global world --Résumé de l'éditeur.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member wendyrey
Well enough written I suppose ,though he does go on. I am sadly disappointed with him as I had always believed that his admiration of That Woman (aka Mrs Thatcher) was a distortion by the very right wing British media but alas no he really did admire that evil woman. It does at least explain why he
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made no real attempt to undo any of the damage she did. Show Less
LibraryThing member LyzzyBee
(26 January 2012; Shakespeare Hospice Bookshop, Stratford-Upon-Avon)
As regular readers will know, I do like a political biography. When this one came out, as a lifelong wavering voter between Labour and Liberal (with a touch of Green for the locals and a wobble towards Respect for Salma’s sake)
There was an interest there, although it was a bit of a slog, too (not helped by leaving it to one side while I did my Re-Reading in January project). The interest mainly lay in some of the background to the Irish peace process, relationships with other heads of state and royalty, and the mechanics of being the prime minister – having a drum kit in the top room; buying ice creams with Gordon; doing carefully planned and pre-checked “spontaneous” trips to shops, etc. A lot of the rest of it was the usual self-justification that is rife in the political autobiography, and some of it rather tedious (the famous sex bit comes in early, thank goodness). What really rather grated on me was that he was trying so hard to be “Tony, man of the people” that it just wasn’t very well written – or edited. There were too many asides, too many “for sure”s and too much plain dodgy grammar. It read rather as if he’d dictated it and it had gone straight down onto the page without the benefit of much thought.
I’m glad I faced up to and read it – you can’t just read your heroes’ bios, can you? Or maybe you should …
Deaccessioned to BookCrossing 26 Oct 2013
As regular readers will know, I do like a political biography. When this one came out, as a lifelong wavering voter between Labour and Liberal (with a touch of Green for the locals and a wobble towards Respect for Salma’s sake)
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but not a big TB fan, I was intrigued. Then I didn’t want to buy it new and give him the royalties. Then I discovered the royalties were going to charity (or have I made that up?) but I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of getting my vote in the ratings … so when I found it in a charity shop, I did eventually pick it up.There was an interest there, although it was a bit of a slog, too (not helped by leaving it to one side while I did my Re-Reading in January project). The interest mainly lay in some of the background to the Irish peace process, relationships with other heads of state and royalty, and the mechanics of being the prime minister – having a drum kit in the top room; buying ice creams with Gordon; doing carefully planned and pre-checked “spontaneous” trips to shops, etc. A lot of the rest of it was the usual self-justification that is rife in the political autobiography, and some of it rather tedious (the famous sex bit comes in early, thank goodness). What really rather grated on me was that he was trying so hard to be “Tony, man of the people” that it just wasn’t very well written – or edited. There were too many asides, too many “for sure”s and too much plain dodgy grammar. It read rather as if he’d dictated it and it had gone straight down onto the page without the benefit of much thought.
I’m glad I faced up to and read it – you can’t just read your heroes’ bios, can you? Or maybe you should …
Deaccessioned to BookCrossing 26 Oct 2013
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LibraryThing member the.ken.petersen
Phew! I feel really sorry for those people, employed by the press, and asked to review this book in twenty-four hours. I presume that they did the only thing that I could have done in those circumstances and read portions concerning major events within Blair's Prime Ministerial reign.
This explains
Due to family matters, it has taken me two weeks to read this tome - I think that I may have managed it in one; but certainly no less. The views are in line with the direction in which TB took the Labour Party but certainly took some hard mental work to, even begin, to get my head around.
The book is written in a very readable style and the Man' (thanks Chris Mullin) is one of the rare bread of authors who can, intentionally, make me laugh out loud whilst reading. The fact that the very next sentence may challenge the heart of my political beliefs is the reason that this book is so special.
Many times I found myself nodding my head and, instinctively agreeing with his reading of the situation, sometimes I needed to read a section two, or three times and sometimes I couldn't agree even after that.
Blair uses a very clever technique when it comes to the major events of his government, he wisely accepts that the public will have their own views and he is unlikely to get an anti-war protester to say, "Oh yes! I get it now TB was correct." He, therefore, does not aim for that level of acceptance. He simply asks that one reads his reading of the need for war and allow that there is the possibility that he was right. For me, admittedly a Blairite, this works. Being lead gently, I can see that some of my doubts are based in that wonderful place of being an armchair politician: just as my football team would win every game were they to play my team and tactics, it would have been possible to deal with al-Qaeda in a peaceful manner. Fortunately, my views were not tested; his were.
It is going to take, at least, a second read for the full effect of this book to seep into my dense brain but, I really believe this book to be a significant addition to political theory - thank you TB!
This explains
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why I have yet to read a review that touches the point of the book. It is not, as I - along with the reviewers - thought, an attempt to justify the decisions of his leadership. It is much more the opening to the people, particularly of Britain, of a debate about the direction which politics should take.Due to family matters, it has taken me two weeks to read this tome - I think that I may have managed it in one; but certainly no less. The views are in line with the direction in which TB took the Labour Party but certainly took some hard mental work to, even begin, to get my head around.
The book is written in a very readable style and the Man' (thanks Chris Mullin) is one of the rare bread of authors who can, intentionally, make me laugh out loud whilst reading. The fact that the very next sentence may challenge the heart of my political beliefs is the reason that this book is so special.
Many times I found myself nodding my head and, instinctively agreeing with his reading of the situation, sometimes I needed to read a section two, or three times and sometimes I couldn't agree even after that.
Blair uses a very clever technique when it comes to the major events of his government, he wisely accepts that the public will have their own views and he is unlikely to get an anti-war protester to say, "Oh yes! I get it now TB was correct." He, therefore, does not aim for that level of acceptance. He simply asks that one reads his reading of the need for war and allow that there is the possibility that he was right. For me, admittedly a Blairite, this works. Being lead gently, I can see that some of my doubts are based in that wonderful place of being an armchair politician: just as my football team would win every game were they to play my team and tactics, it would have been possible to deal with al-Qaeda in a peaceful manner. Fortunately, my views were not tested; his were.
It is going to take, at least, a second read for the full effect of this book to seep into my dense brain but, I really believe this book to be a significant addition to political theory - thank you TB!
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LibraryThing member roblong
I have mixed feelings about Blair, and they're still mixed after reading this. For the politics-heads only, but if you are one then it's a good read. Weirdly written (but then he's not a writer) in a chatty style that tries to become more formal where he feels it necessary (Iraq). For a book of its
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size this is easy enough to whip through. Worth a read to understand the man as he saw himself, and so why he did the things he did, rather than see it all through some media caricature. Show Less
LibraryThing member gbsallery
As a book, this is a poor effort. Unsurprisingly, there are no genuinely interesting revelations, and what is more the sheer effort required to read this work makes the few interesting insights feel like they are barely worth the effort. The difficulty does not stem from surface readability (the
Interestingly, the postscript is the most rewarding part of the book, and the piece which best illustrates his obvious strengths as a master of empathy, and as someone with a grasp of the realities of social and power structures. It is only a shame that there is no apparent awareness of his genuine weakness of not being able to tie some of his opinions back to reality. I suspect this is because he flunked science at school.
Overall, worth reading, but be aware that it is a very hard slog.
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book is well-edited), but from the fact that each statement has to be picked up and inspected through the prism of knowledge of Blair's personality. There are obvious lacunae, as with any political autobiography, but one of the more surprising ones is the omission of any discussion of his own faith. This is disingenuous, as many of his other decisions were implicitly or explicitly guided by his religious leanings.Interestingly, the postscript is the most rewarding part of the book, and the piece which best illustrates his obvious strengths as a master of empathy, and as someone with a grasp of the realities of social and power structures. It is only a shame that there is no apparent awareness of his genuine weakness of not being able to tie some of his opinions back to reality. I suspect this is because he flunked science at school.
Overall, worth reading, but be aware that it is a very hard slog.
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LibraryThing member johnnyryan
This is good. Like a Blair speech, it is hard to walk away unconvinced, but niggling points of detail occasionally pick at the mind. Overall the book gives a Fog Of War style insiders perspective on the hard slog of politics and world affairs. Blair did us (but also took the occasion to do himself)
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a service by writing this. It will take three decades for the archives to open up and show us what the facts were, but for the interim this goes along way toward showing us what Blair was thinking, and also how the world looks from No. 10. Show Less
LibraryThing member Schmerguls
I found this political biography good reading, and much of what Blair says makes sense. He seeks to justify joining in the Iraq War, and while he is not overly persuasive one can see that he felt he had to back the U.S. position. One does get the idea that Bush was determind to go to war whether
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Blair agreed or not. Much of the discussion of internal British politics intrigues and is convincing. Blair of course indicates that Labour lost in 2010 because Gordon Brown did not hew to Blair's policies more colsely. . Show Less
LibraryThing member jontseng
Whether he is or not, TB gives you a good impression you are being taken into his confidence. An illuminating look at the burdens of office (and the lifestyles of the rich and the famous).
LibraryThing member bennyb
Blair gives an account of his political career and gives an insight into his beliefs and convictions, which shaped and evolved him during his time in office. This book helped me comprehend why he made the decisions he did, such as the military intervention in Afganistan and Iraq, delaying the
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transition of premiership to Gordon Brown and the third way approach to domestic reform in education, health and the welfare system. The downside of this book is, its too lengthy. Show Less
LibraryThing member LynnB
A colleague recommended this book. At first, I was a bit reluctant to read it because of the length. Then, I read the introdution...a six page love letter to the United States that heightened my reluctance. Not that I have anything against my southern neighbours...I just thought it was a bit much
Anyway, I continued with it and enjoyed learning more about what Tony Blair was trying to acomplish -- his beliefs and motivations. He did an admirable job of sharing his thought processes and I felt the book was an honest portrayal, or at least an honest attempt to portray his time in office as objectively as any autobiographer can. Almost no personal life or scandals here -- this is one for students of government and politics.
Not being a UK citizen, I found there were incidents that weren't described sufficiently for me to fully understand what was at play -- not enugh background, or at times, no explaining of the role of some key players. But, like I've said, it was already long enough.....
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and wondered if those pages had been added to boost sales on this side of the Atlantic???Anyway, I continued with it and enjoyed learning more about what Tony Blair was trying to acomplish -- his beliefs and motivations. He did an admirable job of sharing his thought processes and I felt the book was an honest portrayal, or at least an honest attempt to portray his time in office as objectively as any autobiographer can. Almost no personal life or scandals here -- this is one for students of government and politics.
Not being a UK citizen, I found there were incidents that weren't described sufficiently for me to fully understand what was at play -- not enugh background, or at times, no explaining of the role of some key players. But, like I've said, it was already long enough.....
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LibraryThing member stevage
What a great read. I didn't know a lot about Blair's politics before, but I'm really impressed at how convincingly he argues for his positions on pretty much everything - Iraq, education, health, the economy, etc. This is clearly a man who has spent many years thinking his way through all these
The book is structured for enjoyable reading, broken up by theme and event rather than a strict chronology. There's the North Ireland peace process, 9/11, each of the election campaigns, and so forth. It's dense but succinct, well-written and lovingly copyedited (I noticed but a single typo). My biggest criticism would be the wholly unnecessary final chapter, which as he admits was supposed to be a postscript, and ended up being a credo - essentially rehashing the entire book again in one chapter. Oh, and he barely says a word at all about the enormous MPs' expenses scandal, which I had thought was one of the major factors in Labour's loss. He glosses over it very briefly twice, and that's it.
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issues, discussing them with people, and coming up with robust positions that he passionately believes in. If only we had politicians like this.The book is structured for enjoyable reading, broken up by theme and event rather than a strict chronology. There's the North Ireland peace process, 9/11, each of the election campaigns, and so forth. It's dense but succinct, well-written and lovingly copyedited (I noticed but a single typo). My biggest criticism would be the wholly unnecessary final chapter, which as he admits was supposed to be a postscript, and ended up being a credo - essentially rehashing the entire book again in one chapter. Oh, and he barely says a word at all about the enormous MPs' expenses scandal, which I had thought was one of the major factors in Labour's loss. He glosses over it very briefly twice, and that's it.
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LibraryThing member kiwifruitman
Good book, very interesting views on abandoning the left/right binary. Some parts could be more concise though. Very readable, but your comprehension would be aided by a basic understanding of British political structure (...or just have wikipedia handy).
LibraryThing member markbarnes
As political memoir, Blair's book is better than most. There's the inevitable self-justification of course, but no more than is reasonable, and whether you agree with his policies or not, it's hard not to accept that he surely did his best. The book was as it's most interesting as he reflected on
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what had been. The final chapters, which look forward as much as back, are much weaker, perhaps because the self-confidence is stronger (strangely, Blair seems to find it easier to be sure about the future than the past). Nonetheless, it remains a 'must-read' if only to try and understand the huge influence that Blair's premiership has been on all of us. Show Less