Book learning #92 A history of modern Britain by Andrew Marr

I was in London during the summer, at a friend's house.
We had borrowed their home, some milk , towels and two Game of Thrones DVD box sets.
I simply couldn't thwaite the idea of borrowing a book from the shelf.

But during those few summer days in the capital, I did spend some time (on the loo, on the sofa) leafing through this account of British politics and society since 1945.

Manageable, readable and illuminating. A lengthy, but engrossing read. A good look at some of the hard times, false starts and failures of Britain's slow and so far, faltering decline.

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'.

Book learning #69 The end of the party by Andrew Rawnsley.

There is nothing so sweet as hindsight. Hindsight that does prove a stomach full of hints and suspicions, Hindsight that renders one incredulous about the habits and doings of the great and the supposedly good.
This book was originally published in the early spring of 2010, it caused an outrage and many of those who feature within it's pages were quick to comment, to protect reputations and mostly, if I recall, to deny. The author was both praised and vilified within the same newspapers, the politicians were left to face their fate at the polls a few weeks after the original publication.

At the time, I had decided not to rush out and grab a copy of this book. I had read his previous account of the years 1997-2001 and was not terribly excited about the prospect of a sequel. I suspected that much of the juice had been squeezed out during a three week media frenzy following publication. I also hate hardback books, I need to bend and fold my read, to shove it in my pocket and take it to the chip shop.

Summer 2011 comes around, the silly season is non existent, the world is upon my shoulders and my smouldering curiosity about Gordon Brown is ignited by an extended spell as a housefrau.

This book , whether it be completely truth based or whether there be some room for interpretation, was un-put-downable! Yes, much of the big gossip was already known, but to read some of the contextual stuff was great, to follow the fight through to the very bitter end (the original version ended in winter 2010, this edition followed the story through the General Election in May and the negotiations which followed and spawned the Conservative/Liberal Democrat Coalition.

There can be no doubt that politics at the highest level can create immense strain upon those wielding the power, Rawnsley paints poor old Blair as beaten and bruised from the inside whilst maintaining a perma tanned and internationally glamourous exterior. Following the 2007 transition he paints poor old Brown as beaten and bruised by all and sundry, all the time.

I would very much enjoy a third account, the view of the current, fascinating government.

Book Learning 42: The Prime Minister, the office and it's holders since 1945. Peter Hennessey.

The Prime Minister, the office and it's holders since 1945.
Peter Hennessey.

Hennessey is a great contemporary historian.

I first read this a few years ago, I picked it up again for two reasons. I was bored and I'd loved it the first time. I was hoping to find some insight into leadership that might help with my current professional ennui.

I loved it all over again, most of all Clement Atlee, then Harold Macmillan, then James Callaghan.

Did I learn anything?
Possibly.
Have I used that learning?
Perhaps but maybe not yet.

Did I enjoy re-reading the moments of power and struggle of the the last 65 years?

Do I look like a political geek?

Book Learning 26:Letters to a young politician by Alistair MacAlpine.

Letters to a young politician by Alistair MacAlpine.



I had wanted something that would have illuminated the shadowy world of the Tory MP, I ended up with a flighty, sub Wodehouse ramble through drunkeness and intruige. It was fair enough but it just reminded me why we should never trust our elected officals and why Tories are almost always complete wankers.