- Paperback: 528 pages
- Publisher: Harper Perennial; New edition edition (7 Mar 2005)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0007741278
- ISBN-13: 978-0007175413
- ASIN: 0007175418
- Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 12.8 x 3.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 615,556 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
| ||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
‘As a psychological profile, an exploration of personal ambition and a study of political obsession driven by religious angst, this biography is gripping.’ Daily Telegraph
‘Intensively researched but coolly critical…this remains the most thorough biography we have.’ Independent
‘What makes this worth reading is Bower’s damning indictment of Brown's main boast: his supposedly sure stewardship of the economy.’ The Times
‘A powerful book which poses serious questions.’ James Naughtie
‘Compulsively readable…essential reading.’ Norman Lamont
The Times
'Bower is a formidable biographer...a powerful book.'
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Buy this book if, like me, you are interested in the career of this deep, intriguing man, especially his recent career. I have never been one to particularly enjoy reading in depth analyses of a subject's upbringing and childhood and wasn't disappointed that Bower has this done and dusted in the first chapter. If this is your bag then I would recommend The Rivals by James Naughtie.
I enjoyed the book but found Bower's style somewhat unsatisfying. I found this also with Broken Dreams but put that down his not being a his audience with lots of supporting information but so bluntly and to such excess that I can't help (in both their cases) questioning the accuracy of what is presented. In this case the case put forward is damning, in fact it's too damning and one sided. With the personality flaws and career failures listed by Bower I wonder how Brown ever became the second most powerful man in the country (and in some cases the most powerful). I also found his conclusion unsatisfactory. Almost an afterthought with no arguments given in the preceding chapters to really support his assertion about Brown and the leadership.
In short, a good read but left me feeling unsatisfied. Probably worth waiting for the paperback.
20 of 24 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This was not a well-crafted book in terms of the writing style. It also seems irritatingly repetitive at regular intervals. On the other hand it paints a compelling portrait of a driven but flawed man. Disturbingly, it illustrates his persistent refusal to listen to unwelcome opinions, his obsessiveness with targets as a management tool, and his unwillingness and inability to carry colleagues with him rather than dictating to them.
The book does a good job of showing how fortunate Brown has been in being able to present himself as prudent whilst, at the same time, following an increasingly reckless approach to the public finances against a backdrop of falling underlying revenues - a contrast beautifully finessed by his management of the press in an environment made favourable by the Iraqi "misfortunes" of Blair and others.
Puzzlingly, the book fails to comment much on why it is that Brown has no apparent interest in other Cabinet roles - though his ability to control from the Treasury via budgets may be a factor.
Overall the picture is of a dictatorial control freak who would be a disaster as a Prime Minister. This book is a must-read for those contemplating the forthcoming election, as Brown appears sure that Blair will resign in late 2006 and leave him to take over.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Tom Bower's book makes scary reading.
The scale of the personal ambition and the single-minded process of trying to attain it paints a vivid picture of a deeply flawed man in a deeply flawed government.
It is clear that Gordon Brown is a conviction politician. It is unfortunate that the conviction is that he is right and that everyone else is wrong and must be punished for their impertinence if they disagree.
No-one comes out of this very well, although the civil servants are portrayed as merely being carried away by the Brown/Balls machine.
This book was published in 2004. Subsequent events demonstrate most of the points amply demonstrated by the text. Indecision, overconfidence, massive personal vanity, a willingness to make repetitive and inaccurate sound bites a substitute for truth, and a refusal to concede error have all been proved by recent events.
The writing style can be wearing but the content is both repellant and moreish.
The scale of the personal ambition and the single-minded process of trying to attain it paints a vivid picture of a deeply flawed man in a deeply flawed government.
It is clear that Gordon Brown is a conviction politician. It is unfortunate that the conviction is that he is right and that everyone else is wrong and must be punished for their impertinence if they disagree.
No-one comes out of this very well, although the civil servants are portrayed as merely being carried away by the Brown/Balls machine.
This book was published in 2004. Subsequent events demonstrate most of the points amply demonstrated by the text. Indecision, overconfidence, massive personal vanity, a willingness to make repetitive and inaccurate sound bites a substitute for truth, and a refusal to concede error have all been proved by recent events.
The writing style can be wearing but the content is both repellant and moreish.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Was this review helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Psychologically flawed
I feel that the other reader reviews here are unfair. It is true that the book is somewhat repetitive, not a work of great literature and one-sided. Read more
Published on 17 Dec 2008 by S. Hemingway
One-sided
This is a hatchet-job, albeit a quite readable one. The portrait of the brooding 'son of the Manse' is overdrawn and statistics are deployed in their hundreds to skewer... Read more
Published on 5 Dec 2005 by Daniel Alexander
BROWN STUDY
It is nothing unusual for a modern British prime minister to be surrounded by jealous and manipulative rivals who are after his (or in the most striking instance her) job. Read more
Published on 22 Feb 2005 by DAVID BRYSON
Poorly-written, agenda-driven, middle-brow, odd
Reading this book is like sitting in a pub beside a bore with bad breath who has something he wants to tell you and just won't let go. Read more
Published on 14 Jan 2005 by Dan McKenzie
Spoiled by overcooking
As a Scottish Labour Party member of over 35 year standing, and no friend of Gordon Brown's approach to his personal ambitions, I found this book so imbalanced in its approach that... Read more
Published on 6 Jan 2005
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Biography > Historical > 1501-1700
- Books > Biography > Historical > Britain > Military
- Books > Biography > Historical > Britain > Tudors & Stuarts: 1501-1700
- Books > Biography > Historical > Countries & Regions > Europe
- Books > Biography > Political > Britain
- Books > History > Britain & Ireland > Ireland
- Books > History > Britain & Ireland > Post-war Period, 1946-Present
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
