TONY BLAIR - A JOURNEY

This is the book of the hour with unprecedented review coverage on both sides of the Atalantic and around the world. I finally got my hands on a copy yesterday  and have read the first five chapters, the one on Princess Diana and Blair's handling of her death was especially interesting. This man is an intelligent and articulate guy and he writes easily and well in an accessible style.

Here is his opening paragraph of chapter one:

On 2 May 1997, I walked into Downing Street as prime minister for the first time. I had never held office, not even as the most junior of junior ministers. It was my first and only ever job in government.

This is of course autobiography and it is told entirely from his own very personal poiint of view. I like the fact though that he has written it in a thematic style rather than a long chronological narrative.

This is a whopper of a book, a hard back running to past 700 pages, loads of interesting photos too, many not seen before as they are from his personal collection, but really I do wonder how many NZ'ers will want to read 700+ pages on  British politics. Unless of course you are a political historian, have a particular interest in this period or in the man himself or just love reading political biography wherever it is set as one friend of mine does.

For my part though I suspect I'll  be skimming most of the remaining 550 pages. Although there are plenty of tasty gossipy morsels scattered throughout.

TONY BLAIR

A JOURNEY
Published by Hutchinson/Random House; RRP: NZ$75.00

Tony Blair Blair Pelted with Eggs at Signing

The Daily Beast

Peter Morrison / AP Photo

This probably means they weren’t buying the book. Protestors pelted former British Prime Minister Tony Blair with eggs and shoes as he arrived for a book signing Sunday in Dublin. Lucky for him, he didn’t take a direct hit. It was his first signing since he published his autobiography, A Journey, in which he detailed, among other things, just how far he stretched the truth during negotiations for peace in Northern Ireland. The book has already shot to the top of Amazon’s best-seller list in the United Kingdom.

Read it at BBC News