| |||||||||||||||
 Trade In this Item for up to £0.25
Get an extra £5 when you trade in books worth £10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade in Hung Together: The 2010 Election and the Coalition Government for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £0.25, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
|
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
'A pacy, well-written and excellently sourced account of the general election and the negotiations that followed' --Peter Oborne, Telegraph
`An engaging insight in to the behind-the-scenes dramas of the 2010 general election and the subsequent high-wire talks' --Nicholas Jones, Tribune
`An engaging insight in to the behind-the-scenes dramas of the 2010 general election and the subsequent high-wire talks' --Nicholas Jones, Tribune
Product Description
Hung Together tells the story of a year that made political history as told by the protagonists and as witnessed by two journalists with unrivalled access to events. Adam Boulton and Joey Jones were at the heart of the action of the past extraordinary months and are able to draw on detailed interviews with all the key players to build up the most complete and intimate picture of how things unfolded. Hung Together begins by looking at the election campaign and the pivotal events of the weeks running up to polling day - including the televised Leaders Debates (one of which Boulton chaired). The book then follows the campaign trail -- Joey Jones, the only senior journalist permitted to follow David Cameron day in, day out reveals a glimpse of the stresses the future PM found himself under during his gruelling weeks on the road -- and the coalition negotiations; a hothouse of discussion and give and take, the consequences of which are only just sinking in. Westminster has rarely witnessed such drama and yet much of what went on has not so far been told. Whether on the stump, while broadcasting live, or during tense discussions deep in the bowels of Whitehall, the authors witnessed every event themselves or know someone who did. And in Hung Together they unveil a complete picture of what really went on, a story that is at present shrouded in rumour and secrecy.
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
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Adam Boulton and Joey Jones, the authors of Hung Together: The 2010 Election and the Coalition Government, have produced a book of the sort that, after previous general elections, would have been deserving of praise and interest. Their bad luck for the 2010 election is that there are several high quality alternatives available, in particular the revitalised Nuffield general election series in the form of The British General Election of 2010 and 22 Days in May, not to mention the Nick Robinson BBC documentary.
Compared to those this lively book is a little lightweight. It does not have the detail of analysis to provide much in the way of extra information and the picture you get of the rollercoaster of emotions on the campaign trail could have made a good feature article, but is not worth reading a whole book for. The analysis is generally very limited and follows conventional lines (so TV debates are dates to the US in 1960 without Sweden in the 1950s being mentioned, the plethora of Lib Dem meetings after the election is mocked rather than analysed for how it helped the party make a united decision, and so on). It provides a form of instant history that can be enjoyable to read and is valuable to capture for the future; its bad luck is the quality of the rival sources of instant history appearing after the 2010 election.
To Adam Boulton's credit the book confronts head-on his own two moments of controversy during the election - his moderation of the second TV debate and his on-screen confrontation with Alistair Campbell. For the former he does a good job of defending his actions, but for the latter his defence goes on at such length and with such insistence that it harms as much as it helps his own reputation.
Joey Jones's reputation - or rather than of TV political journalists in general - also takes a bit of a knock for his honesty description of what really matters to such journalists following a party leader on an election campaign trail: "In general the objective is to niggle and harry in order to force an error or prompt a news line". Not to report factually; not to scrutinise closely for evasion the comments made; not to show how the public is viewing the leader; but instead to try to needle someone into making a mistake. An honest account of what journalists set out to do, especially as it is not a flattering one.
Overall the book is worth a read if you have not got access to the others, want to read as much as possible about the 2010 election or want a book that does lively narrative rather than analysis and explanation.
Compared to those this lively book is a little lightweight. It does not have the detail of analysis to provide much in the way of extra information and the picture you get of the rollercoaster of emotions on the campaign trail could have made a good feature article, but is not worth reading a whole book for. The analysis is generally very limited and follows conventional lines (so TV debates are dates to the US in 1960 without Sweden in the 1950s being mentioned, the plethora of Lib Dem meetings after the election is mocked rather than analysed for how it helped the party make a united decision, and so on). It provides a form of instant history that can be enjoyable to read and is valuable to capture for the future; its bad luck is the quality of the rival sources of instant history appearing after the 2010 election.
To Adam Boulton's credit the book confronts head-on his own two moments of controversy during the election - his moderation of the second TV debate and his on-screen confrontation with Alistair Campbell. For the former he does a good job of defending his actions, but for the latter his defence goes on at such length and with such insistence that it harms as much as it helps his own reputation.
Joey Jones's reputation - or rather than of TV political journalists in general - also takes a bit of a knock for his honesty description of what really matters to such journalists following a party leader on an election campaign trail: "In general the objective is to niggle and harry in order to force an error or prompt a news line". Not to report factually; not to scrutinise closely for evasion the comments made; not to show how the public is viewing the leader; but instead to try to needle someone into making a mistake. An honest account of what journalists set out to do, especially as it is not a flattering one.
Overall the book is worth a read if you have not got access to the others, want to read as much as possible about the 2010 election or want a book that does lively narrative rather than analysis and explanation.
14 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I love a good political read, but this is a piece of egocentric tripe from Adam Boulton. There is undoubtedly a good story about the formation of the coalition government, but sadly this isn't is it. This is a mundane trudge through recent events with surprsingly little information and the story is spoilt by Boulton's huge ego. Right-wing, left-wing, neutral, I don't think this book will appeal to you. Save your money for a future account written by somebody who actually knows the story and doesn't spend large sections on his own dull media spats.
5 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This book is far better than the dire "Campaign 2010" by Nicholas Jones.It does not offer much analysis of the actual result -but does provide a good ,well-written account of the setting up of the coalition government. While slightly favouring the Tories, it is fair to Gordon Brown and Labour and does let anti-Tory deal Lib.Dems. have a say.However to get a higher rating -Adam Boultons two chapters-one about what a great moderator of the second TV debate he was and the other about his on-screen row with Alistair Campbell( with several pages wasted on a verbatim text of the exchange!) should have been cut out.Skip those two chapters and you will have a good read.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Murdochvision's public mouthpiece
One of the minor joys of 2010's election campaign and the subsequent coalition formation was to see demonstrators barracking Adam Boulton when he tried to do pieces to... Read more
Published 14 months ago by PygmyTwylyte
Elections - don't ya just love them
Anyone who enjoys poring over the minutiae of general elections will get immense satisfaction from this book. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Densie
Fascinating insight
I'm a bit surprised by some of the other reviews posted below. I know Adam Boulton can be a bit bullish onscreen, but I found this book illuminating and considered. Read more
Published 18 months ago by John Fraser
Tip - perhaps read the book before reviewing
I'm finding a couple of the reviews below hard to square with what I found to be a fast-paced and illuminating account of the 2010 Election.
And the supposed Tory bias? Read more
And the supposed Tory bias? Read more
Published 18 months ago by Mr Baldwin
Witty, wise and well-researched
Boulton and Jones know the political landscape as well as anyone - and the book reveals they were close to the action from beginning to end - and they also know how to tell a good... Read more
Published 18 months ago by CFarrell28
Tory Tripe
Typical tripe from Tory Boy Boulton. He shows as much impartiality here as he does when reporting on Sky News.
Published 18 months ago by Gary0371
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Government & Politics > Countries & Regions > UK > Constitution & Government
- Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Government & Politics > Countries & Regions > UK > Elections
- Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Government & Politics > Political Structure & Processes > Elections & Referendums
- Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Social Sciences > Sociology
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.
|
