I will never be a Labour voter ever, but I did enjoy this memoir by Tony Blair.
It is just a memoir rather than a full blown autobiography, which is a good thing because the latter can drag when we are taken through every class the subject attended at primary school and what they had for Sunday lunch served up by their dear old mum.
Rather this is written episodically, and as he states in the introduction you can dip into it at any chapter and not miss anything.
We have here 700 pages of Blair's views on everything,Iraq of course, New Labour, Gordon Brown and Northern Ireland and a lot on domestic politics and his personal life.
What is apparent he doesn't like Brown, admires his brain but that's all. I was left wondering why he was so close politically for so long and I concluded that it was all about power, getting it and holding onto it, nothing new then there for a politician.
The chapter on Northern Ireland is very interesting, having to deal with all the nutters involved there ( and they are nutters)was a test on all concerned.
The chapter on Iraq is pretty much a waste of time in that we will never know the truth of what really happened here for about 100 years when papers may be released telling the citizens how decisions were made.
What really sets this apart from other political writing, re-phrase, writing by a politician , is that it is laugh out loud in places, really really funny.
Where Blair has a MP explaining to him how he came to be arrested after being found with a male prostitute, will have you falling off the chair.
And it is very rare to find anyone, let alone a politician being as candid about themselves as Blair is i.e ..my wife, who can be very difficult..., this shows a man who is either very brave or runs his house like we would all like to.
At the end of the book I was still left in the dark as to whether New Labour under Blair actually achieved anything for Britain in the 10 years he was Prime Minister. I don't have to live there but I really don't think he did, certainly nothing earth shattering that he will be remembered around the world for.
I do know that he would have been a brilliant barrister if he had stayed with law, a very quick witted man.
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