Downfall: The Tommy Sheridan Story
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Review
The definitive account of Sheridan's political demise...brilliantly written. Most tomes on Scottish politics are barely worth reading, but McCombes's offering deserves to be read far beyond Scotland. --Scotsman
For anyone seeking to understand the tragic events that beset the SSP in 2004-2010, Downfall is essential, if sometimes painful, reading --Socialist Resistance
'A hugely important book ... an incredibly gripping vindication of the comrades indeed the entire party destroyed by Sheridan. Necessary and powerful stuff' --Alan Bissett, Sunday Herald
'This is a gripping tale, and one McCombes tells with a certain flare, an eye for detail.' --Gerry Hassan, Our Kingdom
'Alan McCombes s Downfall (Birlinn, £9.99) is a riveting insider s account of the Tommy Sheridan débâcle. Necessary and powerful stuff.' --Alan Bisset
'This is a gripping tale, and one McCombes tells with a certain flare, an eye for detail.' --Gerry Hassan, Our Kingdom
For anyone seeking to understand the tragic events that beset the SSP in 2004-2010, Downfall is essential, if sometimes painful, reading --Socialist Resistance
'A hugely important book ... an incredibly gripping vindication of the comrades indeed the entire party destroyed by Sheridan. Necessary and powerful stuff' --Alan Bissett, Sunday Herald
'This is a gripping tale, and one McCombes tells with a certain flare, an eye for detail.' --Gerry Hassan, Our Kingdom
'Alan McCombes s Downfall (Birlinn, £9.99) is a riveting insider s account of the Tommy Sheridan débâcle. Necessary and powerful stuff.' --Alan Bisset
'This is a gripping tale, and one McCombes tells with a certain flare, an eye for detail.' --Gerry Hassan, Our Kingdom
Product Description
From prison cell to the political limelight, and back again, there is no doubt that Tommy Sheridan - tanned, handsome and armed with a soundbite for every occasion - was one of the most colourful figures in the drab, dusty world of party politics. Yet behind the charismatic exterior of the man who first came to public notice during the anti- Poll Tax movement and later led the Scottish Socialist Party to become a strong voice in the new Scottish parliament was a deeply flawed, manipulative individual whose own actions led to one of the most spectacular political downfalls in recent history. Written by his closest political associate for over twenty years, and based on a raft of documentary and eyewitness information, much of it appearing in print for the first time, this is the no-holds barred inside story of the rise and fall of one of the most fascinating figures in recent Scottish politics. Combining elements of tragedy, thriller and farce, it presents the stark, ugly truth behind Sheridan's victorious defamation action against the News of the World in 2006 and subsequent perjury trial in 2010, which contained some of the most dramatic courtroom scenes in Scottish legal history. Yet despite the lurid and sensationalist aspects of Sheridan's life and career, this is also a serious exploration of wider political and psychological themes which offers some salutary lessons at a time when public confidence in politicians has seldom been lower.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A superb account of a fascinating subject matter. Often like a John Le Carre novel, you'll find it hard to put this down!
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
It's always disapponting when political heroes let you down but McCombes' retelling from close quarters of the demise of Tommy Sheridan is done with clarity, great political insight and with more magnaminity than Sheridan and his supporters deserve. Highly readable, I laughed or cried in almost every chapter. McCombes explains with forensic attention to detail the twists and turns of Scotland's most famous libel case.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
I have not been a member of the Scottish left for a number of years but followed the Sheridan trials with interest from a distance. I did not know if this book would add anything to what I knew - it does and deserves a wide audience. I read it in a day - it's compelling, clearly written, incisive and humane. It is also in small parts clunky which is why I've given it a four not a five: McCombes has a fondness for supposedly comedic similes that generally jar; he's not above the odd cliche; and he can't resist a few incidental snipes about Sheridan (his lack of culture, limited intellectual outlook and failing post-civil trial career moves) which, though understandable given the personal enmity, would have been better edited out.
Having said that, the book achieves the main purpose I assume the author had for it by providing a detailed, convincing rationale for why the SSP members who testified 'against' Sheridan did what they did. In doing so the appalling reality of Sheridan's behaviour from 2004 onwards is laid bare - not only towards fellow members of the SSP but also in his use of every means at his disposal - fair and unfair - to discredit and destroy the women testifying to the sexual liaisons they had had with him. This book will not stop the war of words about the Sheridan trials and may even reignite them - the left-wing sites commenting on the book suggest that. However I've no doubt it needed to be written and on finishing it found it hard not to have admiration for the author and those of his colleagues who refused to go along with Sheridan's plans. Rather than the bile which has hitherto been thrown at McCombes et al. for giving evidence against Sheridan in the two trials by some on the left, I suspect history will judge that we owe them respect and gratitude for the actions they took.
Having said that, the book achieves the main purpose I assume the author had for it by providing a detailed, convincing rationale for why the SSP members who testified 'against' Sheridan did what they did. In doing so the appalling reality of Sheridan's behaviour from 2004 onwards is laid bare - not only towards fellow members of the SSP but also in his use of every means at his disposal - fair and unfair - to discredit and destroy the women testifying to the sexual liaisons they had had with him. This book will not stop the war of words about the Sheridan trials and may even reignite them - the left-wing sites commenting on the book suggest that. However I've no doubt it needed to be written and on finishing it found it hard not to have admiration for the author and those of his colleagues who refused to go along with Sheridan's plans. Rather than the bile which has hitherto been thrown at McCombes et al. for giving evidence against Sheridan in the two trials by some on the left, I suspect history will judge that we owe them respect and gratitude for the actions they took.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Good read!
Amazing story. They say you can't fool all of the people but Sheridan fooled a lot. And for years.!
The biggest revelation is how he managed to stay on top for so long. Read more
The biggest revelation is how he managed to stay on top for so long. Read more
Published 27 days ago by hugo
Terrible
Terrible writing in a book written by a jealous rival.
To describe this as non fiction is a travesty. Read more
To describe this as non fiction is a travesty. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Marcus
A terrible book.
A terrible book full of cliches. Surely the title should be 'Tommy Sheridan, my part in his downfall'? Read more
Published 8 months ago by Mr Shankly
Truth at last
Having followed this torrid affair from the start, this book undoubtedly provides the most truthful account of the events that lead up to Sheridan's conviction. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Fred
Could have been better
It's certainly an interesting read for sure but it also feels contrary to McCombes apparent belief system (in relation to the Murdoch press) and any objective reader is left in no... Read more
Published 10 months ago by David Mulhern
The definitive account of the Sheridan affair
This is a meticulously detailed, blow by blow account of the Sheridan affair by a leading SSP figure who was involved in many of the central events: it is the definitive and... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Alexander Miller
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