Book learning # 78. The Third Man by Peter Mandelson

"Oh Mandy,  well you came and you gave without taking..."

They say every political career ends in failure.

I say every political memoir descends into tedium.

Look, it wasn't all bad. The first chapter or two were great, looking at Mandelson's early career and the creation of New Labour. The relationships within the Blair/Brown/Mandelson trinity were rich and made engaging reading.

Then I just got bored with the bits in the middle. Cut to the 2010 election. The negotiations, the Tory-Lib Dem coalition. Throughout the book the insanity of Gordon Brown came through. I ended up feeling rather sorry for him.

I would recommend Andrew Rawnsley's books over any of the 'inside accounts'.