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 Book: A Journey: My Political Life
Author: Tony Blair
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Book Description:
Tony Blair is a politician who defines our times. His emergence as Labour Party leader in 1994 marked a seismic shift in British politics. Within a few short years, he had transformed his party and rallied the country behind him, becoming prime minister in 1997 with the biggest victory in Labour’s history, and bringing to an end eighteen years of Conservative government. He took Labour to a historic three terms in office as Britain’s dominant political figure of the last two decades.
A Journey is Tony Blair’s firsthand account of his years in office and beyond. Here he describes for the first time his role in shaping our recent history, from the aftermath of Princess Diana’s death to the war on terror. He reveals the leadership decisions that were necessary to reinvent his party, the relationships with colleagues including Gordon Brown, the grueling negotiations for peace in Northern Ireland, the implementation of the biggest reforms to public services in Britain since 1945, and his relationships with leaders on the world stage—Nelson Mandela, Bill Clinton, Vladimir Putin, George W. Bush. He analyzes the belief in ethical intervention that led to his decisions to go to war in Kosovo, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan, and, most controversially of all, in Iraq.
A Journey is a book about the nature and uses of political power. In frank, unflinching, often wry detail, Tony Blair charts the ups and downs of his career to provide insight into the man as well as the politician and statesman. He explores the challenges of leadership, and the ramifications of standing up, clearly and forcefully, for what one believes in. He also looks ahead, to emerging power relationships and economies, addressing the vital issues and complexities of our global world.
Few British prime ministers have shaped the nation’s course as profoundly as Tony Blair, and his achievements and his legacy will be debated for years to come. Here, uniquely, we have his own journey, in his own words.
momsword.org review:
Former Prime Minister Tony Blair was someone I had always wanted to meet since he became Prime Minister. When I was in college, during the discussions about going into Iraq, I would skip my early 7AM class to listen to the political debate in the British Parliament. I would then take notes and then bring it to my political science class (my degree was Political Science) to discuss what the MP’s had to say.
When I graduated from college, I was excited to get a internship at the British Parliament with a MP for the summer and it was there I met, Tony Blair, the late Robin Cook and many more well-known politicians (hey I also met Bill Clinton, when he came to the UK for a visit!), all I looked up to in the political world. It was then I knew I wanted a life in politics, maybe become a US Ambassador someday.
Tony Blair is a man you either love him or hate him. Everyone will remember Tony Blair and former President George Bush were the only leaders of the countries that seem to have supported 100% to go into Iraq. I never understood why Blair wanted to agree with our president for going into Iraq. As many people have said, including the late Robin Cook, there were no Weapons of Mass Destruction, at least no real 100% proof to the public, well in the book, he did say about U.N. weapons inspector, Hussein "thought the U.S. and its allies were bluffing when we threatened force and actually we were sincere; and we thought he genuinely had weapons of mass destruction when actually he was bluffing."
So when I heard that Tony Blair had a book coming out, I quickly drove up to the bookstore, purchased a copy and came home to read and review this book. I was curious about what this man, someone I looked up to when I was in college and even when I met him in person had to say.
Tony Blair: A Journey is a book, that talks about his journey in politics. Some of the things he talks about are, 911, Fox Hunting Ban, shedding tears for the people who were victims of the Iraq War, praised former U.S. President Bill Clinton (many people loved Clinton --- remember Clinton was the ONLY one who could get the Americans out of North Korea. Why? Because he was loved by people around the world!), the British Royal Family and many more interesting topics.
He wrtites in his book about the late Princess Diana (mother of Prince William and Prince Harry). He called her an extraordinarily amazing, beautiful, ionic woman. “She was a royal who seemed at ease” he wrote in his book about her. He spoke to her about her relationship with Dodi Fayed and in the wake of her tragic death.
One thing that I wanted to point out about the book, was when Fox Hunting was banned. I was an intern when this happened (remember when a couple of people broke into Parliament?? And there was a riot? Yeah I knew one of the men from the many polo parties I attended when I lived in the UK). I was curious what he had to say about Fox Hunting ban.
He said, "Fox hunting; now there's a tale. One of the strangest parts of politics is how you get into situations of unbelievable controversy without ever meaning to or wanting to. The fox-hunting subject resulted in one of the domestic legislative measures I most regret, along with [Britain's] Freedom of Information Act.… [B]oth were the cause of inordinate political convulsion, and for what purpose, God only knows."
He went on to say, "the unspeakable in pursuit of the uneatable. You have to 'feel it' to succeed in politics. That's where instinct comes from, the emotional intelligence. By and large I do feel it, and so, on most issues, I get it. On this one, I had a complete lapse. I didn't 'feel it' either way." Yes it was a
disaster, even Blair says it himself. I never understood why it was banned. I get it that it was for political reasons but I was against the fox hunting ban. To me, it was a sport that people have done since the start of time.. okay it was an ancient sport.
When reading this book, I felt that I got an ‘inside look’ into what Tony Blair was thinking, feeling during his journey. It was like I was chatting with him over a cup of tea. Maybe this is why I loved this book, because it kept my interest. You can tell that Blair is a deep thinker, as he is good with speeches, he tends to put a lot of thought in what he has to say.
There is a lot more to this book then meets the eye. Put what you all think about Tony Blair , both positive or negative aside and read this book with an open mind. I did and I was honest to have read this book. This is a must have to own, that is if you love politics and history.
All-in-all, I could not put this book down. There are a lot of examples to talk about, but that would make this book review super long. In all honestly, I could not see anything negative about this book that I wanted to point out. This is one of my favorite books, next to the final book that the late Robin Cook wrote. I was honored to have met former Prime Minister Tony Blair and I was honored to have read this book.
Momsword.org gives this book two thumbs up!
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Book Details:
- Hardcover: 720 pages
- Publisher: Knopf (September 2, 2010)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0307269833
- ISBN-13: 978-0307269836
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