Blair - Rilegato

Seldon, Anthony

Rilegato

ISBN 10: 0743232119 ISBN 13: 9780743232111

Casa editrice: Free Press, 2004

Riassunto

When Tony Blair entered Downing Street on 2 May 1997 Britain seemed a different place. On that brilliant spring day the country suddenly appeared fresher, brighter -- a marked contrast to the greyness of the dog days of the Major government. That early optimism was in large part a reaction to the personality of Blair himself. The acceptable face of a Labour Party he had already modernised beyond recognition, his charisma and drive won two successive three-figure majorities. But with the triumphs have come allegations of arrogance, of hubris. Was this an inevitable consequence of supreme, almost presidential power, or were these traits always there? We know Blair is a religious man, but what really motivates him? Rejecting the constraints of formal biography, Anthony Seldon has produced a profile of the Prime Minister that rewrites the bibliography of Blair studies. Focusing on the curious interplay between the key episodes of his life and career and the key advisers he has courted so ardently, it assesses the Blair psychology in all its forms, including his pathological fear of alienating middle-class voters and his unprecedented contempt for the media. Gripping and revelatory, it is a major book about the man who has shaped modern Britain.

Su questo libro

Recensione:

'A massive piece of research. Its 700 pages (plus notes and index) are packed with information, and are clearly and thoughtfully written'
Francis Beckett, Guardian 26/4
'A highly-structured book . . . Seldon . . . is workmanlike in research and serious in his verdicts . . . The sad decline of Blair's mother and her death just after his university finals is judiciously and movingly presented, and the portrait of Blair on his rise to the Bar is persuasive...His success in a moribund Labour party was due mainly to charm. Modern politics, as Tony Blair has shown, is as much about the messenger, and his ability to appear agreeable, as it is about the message'
Quentin Letts, Daily Telegraph 26/4

'Sharply-drawn . . . an unusual structure in which his even-numbered chapters are pen portraits of people who have had an influence on Blair, ranging from God to the secretary of Sedgefield Labour Party, while the odd-numbered chapters analyze the key events in Blair's life...making it reader-friendly'
Andy McSmith, Independent on Sunday, 27/4
'Reflective . . . Entertaining...competant . . .retains a healthy balance on a man who, like Mrs Thatcher, can inspire excessive passions often because he goes against the grain of British Politics'
George Walden, Sunday Telegraph 27/6
'This unusual biography presents a vivid enough likeness, although one that is unlikely to prove popular at No 10... Its main contention is that Blair has signally failed to live up to all the expectations and hopes that he evoked back in 1997 and...enquiring into what went wrong... Seldon is probably correct in seeing in the very strengths that made Blair a success as party leader the corresponding weaknesses that have led to his relative failure as Prime Minister"
Anthony Howard, Evening Standard 28/6
'Weighty . . . an impressively complete and up-to-date account of the personalities and events that have formed Labour's longest-serving prime minister. Although not authorised in the traditional sense - and thus not constrained -- many of those within Mr Blair's inner circle have clearly trusted the author and his numerous researchers sufficiently to talk freely and candidly . . . [the novel structure] helps to give a new insight into what is perhaps Mr Blair's greatest political gift: his extraordinary ability to make (almost) everyone who comes into his orbit like him' ECONOMIST
'It is high time we got a further full-length portrait of the Prime Minister in office . . . the author has adopted an unorthodox approach . . . vivid . . . unlikely to prove popular at No 10 . . . its author . . . shows himself a dab hand at detecting personality flaws and character defects . . . If the jury is still out on Blair, this book does a good deal to explain why. Seldon is certainly not afraid of being critical . . . shrewd' Anthony Howard, THE SCOTSMAN
'Seldon's approach, eccentric as it is, [is] convincing . . . his most detailed biography yet . . . we are brought a little closer to an empty yet curiously likeable man' Simon Jenkins, SUNDAY TIMES
'[Downing Street] are a little disapointed. The reader should not be. This is the most comprehensive assessment yet of the [Prime Minister]. . . this book pulls together almost everything we know about Blair . . . Seldon and his researchers seem to have spoken to just about everyone who has dealt with Blair. The sheer amount of evidence Seldon brings to his narrative gives his judgements extra weight . . . vivid . . . Seldon is meticulous . . . this book will become an automatic point of reference for studies of a political period that promised so much' John Kampfner, OBSERVER
'It is hard to praise too highly this superbly well-informed and exhaustively researched book . . . convincing and fair . . . Anthony Seldon's work now counts as one of the half-dozen books that simply must be read by any serious student of New Labour in government. Its strength is its sources. It is plain that Seldon has spoken at length to everyone who matters around Tony Blair. The inner circle have poured out their thoughts to him in a way they never do to journalists. Seldon is uncannily knowledgeable about all kinds of crucial moments in the seven Blair years . . . Again and again, Seldon produces fresh information which clarifies the whole picture. This can only come from first-rate access. Audaciously, Seldon has eschewed the usual narrative structure adopted by authors in works of this kind . . . This technique comes off brilliantly : it enables Seldon . . . to bring a new richness and depth to the portrait of the Prime Minister . . . brilliant . . . vivid . . . Seldon is always fair-minded and generous in his judgements . . . this fine, carefully-written and fair book demands and will surely get a wide and fascinated readership' Peter Oborne, THE TABLET
'Fascinating' TRIBUNE
'Honest and refreshing . . . insightful' Howard Davies, THES
'The most readable of all the books this year on the Prime Minister and / or the war was Anthoy Seldon's Blair, which looks at him through his relationships with other key players such as George Bush and Peter Mandelsohn' Elinor Goodman, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH Books of the Year
'Seldon . . . has written the third major biography of Blair . . . and tries to add vim to the genre with a new format . . . this approach . . . is clever and mostly works' Peter Hyman, FINANCIAL TIMES mag
'A brilliant, multifaceted take on [Blair]'
Christopher Bray, DAILY TELEGRAPH
'A precious compendium'
James Naughtie, Politics - Christmas Books, The Times 3/12

L'autore:

Anthony Seldon is the author of several books including the official biography of John Major and the authorised 'biography' of Number 10 Downing Street. He is also the editor of an ongoing series of essays by the foremost political commentators of the time, the latest of which, THE BLAIR EFFECT, was published in 2001.

Su questa edizione

• Editore: Free Press
• Data di pubblicazione: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0743232119
• ISBN 13: 9780743232111
• Rilegatura: Copertina rigida
• Numero edizione: 1
• Numero di pagine: 768