Tony Blair/Bibliography

Books about Tony Blair

Abse, Leo (2001) Tony Blair: The Man Behind the Smile. Robson Books, ISBN 1-86105-364-9 Written by a former, left-wing Labour MP, updated as Tony Blair: the man who lost his smile Robson Books, ISBN1861056982. Reviewed ("Mugged by an 86-year-old")in the New Statesman magazine. Extract: "Adolescent dreams of new regenerative politics acted out in rock [music] may be tolerable. But when the dream of rebirth is elaborated into a political manifesto, then we are placed on the alert; for this is the poison offered by the Nazi and fascist hucksters and accepted by their dupes."

Beckett F, Hencke D (2004) The Blairs and Their Court. Aurum Press, ISBN 1-84513-024-3 See extracts here.

Beckett F, Hencke D (2006)The Survivor: Tony Blair in Peace and War . Aurum Press, ISBN 184513110X. Written by two investigative journalists, this book was nominated for Britain’s Channel 4 "Political Book of the Year" Award.

Blair, Tony (2004) New Britain: My Vision of a Young Country. Westerview Press, ISBN 081334235X. Review ("I'll not buy a book by that terrible little man")in the right-wing Spectator magazine.

Campbell, Alastair (2007) The Blair Years: The Alastair Campbell Diaries. Knopf, ISBN 0307268314. By the controversial Press Secretary to Tony Blair. Review ("Not such a lovely bloke") in The Guardian and another ("Vivid, intriguing, boastful - and honest") in The Times. Extract: "April 2003: Clare [Short] was rabbiting on more than ever. I slipped TB [Tony Blair] a note about the time Saddam shot his health minister at a meeting because she was annoying him and did he want me to get a gun? 'Yes,' he scribbled."

Gould, Philip (1999) The Unfinished Revolution: How the Modernisers Saved the Labour Party. Abacus, ISBN 0-349-11177-4. Written by one of Blair's strategists. Reviewed in the Independent newspaper("No wonder Tony is a control freak")

Naughtie, James (2001) The Accidental American: Tony Blair and the Presidency. Macmillan, ISBN 1-4050-5001-2. James Naughtie is a broadcaster with the BBC, and political journalist. Interview inThe Washington Post.

Naughtie, James (2002) The Rivals. Fourth estate, ISBN 1841154741 The hardback version was subtitled Blair and Brown: the Intimate Story of a Political Marriage. Inspired the Channel Four televion drama The Deal.[1] Reviewed by The New Statesman ("...James Naughtie was paid more than £300,000 for the inside story on Blair and Brown. But his book was received with boredom and indifference.")

Rawnsley, Andrew (2000) Servants of the People: The Inside Story of New Labour. Hamish Hamilton, ISBN 0-241-14029-3. Rawnsley is a broadcaster and political journalist; he is Chief Political Commentator and Associate Editor for the Observer, a British Sunday newspaper. Review ("United they stand") in the New Statesman, October 2000.

Rentoul, John (2001) Tony Blair: Prime Minister. Little Brown, ISBN 0-316-85496-4. First sentence: "Tony Blair's political ambition began at the age of eleven, when his father Leo's ended, on 4 July 1964."

Paul Richards (Editor) (2004) Tony Blair In His Own Words. Politico's Publishing, ISBN 1842750895 Collection of Blair's speeches and writings.
Riddell, Peter (2004) The Unfulfilled Prime Minister: Tony Blair and the End of Optimism. Politico's Publishing, ISBN 1-84275-113-1. Review (..Where did it all go wrong?") in the New Statesman.

Seldon, Anthony (2004) Blair. Free Press, ISBN 0-7432-3211-9. Written by a historian and social commentator; see Selson on video "Tony Blair in History": introducing a Conference on "What ever happened to Cool Britannia? The UK after eight years of Blair." Montreal, August 2005.

Short, Clare (2004) An Honourable Deception? New Labour, Iraq, and the Misuse of Power. Free Press, ISBN 0-7432-6392-8. Clare Short was a left-wing minister in Blair's Cabinet; she resigned three times; twice in protest at Government policies in the two Gulf Wars and once in a protest against anti-terrorism legislation[2].

Stephens, Philip (2004) Tony Blair: The Making of a World Leader. Viking Books. ISBN 0-670-03300-6. Written by a senior editor of The Financial Times. Review ("A man for all seasons.") in The Economist. Extract: [For Blair,] "ending the tyranny in Iraq was a moral cause fully in accord with the teachings on just wars of Saint Augustine and Thomas Aquinas."

Stothard, Peter (2003) Thirty Days: Tony Blair and the Test of History HarperCollins, ISBN 0060582618. Review in The New Yorker. Sir Peter Stophard is a former Editor of The Times.