The Blair Years

Extracts from the Alastair Campbell Diaries

By: Alastair Campbell

Narrated by: Alastair Campbell

The Blair Years is the most compelling and revealing account of contemporary politics you will ever hear. Taken from Alastair Campbell's daily diaries, these audio extracts chart the rise of New Labour and the tumultuous years of Tony Blair's leadership, providing the first important record of a remarkable decade in our national life.

Here are the defining events of our time, from Labour's new dawn to the war on terror; from the death of Diana to negotiations for peace in Northern Ireland; from Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq, through to the Hutton Inquiry of 2003. But above all, here is Tony Blair up close and personal, making the decisions that affected the lives of millions, under relentless and frequently hostile pressure.

Feared and admired in equal measure, hated by some, Alastair Campbell was pivotal to the founding of New Labour and the sensational election victory of 1997. As Blair's press secretary, strategist, and trusted confidant, Campbell spent more waking hours alongside the prime minister than anyone. His diaries take the listener right to the heart of government.

Unflinchingly told, The Blair Years covers the crises and scandals, the rows and resignations, the ups and downs of Britain's hothouse politics. There has never been so riveting a book about life at the very top, nor a more human book about politics, told by a man who saw it all.

©2007 Alastair Campbell (P)2007 Random House

Critic reviews

"Campbell has a draught Guiness voice with a husky edge to it; he could narrate Chandler thrilers to perfection." (Christina Hardyment, The Times)
"These diaries are His Master�s Voice. They will be gasped at, and relied upon, for decades to come. Buy them, they will suck you in." ( The Times)
"It is electric: a tale of sound and fury." (Book of the Week, The Mail on Sunday)

Great - Campbell very monotone

Needs a little lift in the reading. But overall very interesting listen relating to a very important time in British politics.

a very personal insight into Blair's New Labour

Any additional comments?

I am a big fan of autobiographies read by their authors. The tone of voice and manner of speaking gives you a chance to learn something more about the author and his experiences than is possible from the words alone. As one of the other reviewers mentioned, Campbell reads with a Yorkshire accent that sounds quite cold and flat, but that might give a sense of his personality and the excerpts from his diaries are a gripping insight into the rise of Tony Blair's New Labour. A leading political journalist who served as Blair's chief media strategist, Campbell was at the heart of the work in Downing Street between 1997-2000. He gives his frank personal impressions of leading figures of the day including public figures in the UK and US, as well as insights into UK government strategy and his personal experience of the all consuming life of senior politicians and their advisors. He seems to have had an unusually clear understanding of how to use simple concepts to communicate through the media, as well as strategies for controlling the development of stories and how government policies would be understood by the public. This is probably what made him one of Blair's closest advisers. It is an insightful account. My only thought is that because these are excerpts, and move from key event to key event, they are probably missing insight into the calmer days between crises. Campbell also says that he held back material that might have made life harder for Gordon Brown or damaged the Labour Party.

A wonderful travel through recent history

Though I dont ususally go for political biographys I heard a very favorable recommendation for this book in a podcast (TWiT) which got me curious enough to listen to the sample. In 2 mins I was hooked (try it). A travel around the world during the Blair years in the form of a political diary narrated by the author, Alastair Campbell, whose style takes you right along on a trip of a sort that you are not likely to experience in any other way. Go behind the scenes to a group of young men who finally get their chance to run a country. Go behind hte scenes to Princess Dianas death, Bill Clinton and Monica, the negotiations to unify Ireland, Prince Charles and his organic produce, the Royal family and Buckingham palace, Elton John and Stevie Wonder-scandals and questionable loans- a cast of hundreds! One of those books you cant put down. Couldn't stop listening. Very highly recommended.

Better heard than read

A great perspective on the power and management of the press in the UK. Campbell's voice adds a great deal to interpreting parts of this, so listen rather than read. Great for American readers for perspective on Bush, Iraq, Clinton. While Princess Di was interesting, nothing new to add to that story. One of my favorite Audio reads this year.

The toxic combination of media and politics.

Memories! Media and Politics, when truth and integrity started morphing into spin and populism. Great read, excellent insights!

Too much British politics

Unless you know the players and are close to british politics this book is a hard listen. Author uses lot of initials and does a poor job explaining all the characters he is refering to and this made it very difficult to follow along.

Dreadful orator

The material may be interesting but the audiobook is dreadfully let down by awful & boring oration; worse still, by the author himself !