- Hardcover: 436 pages
- Publisher: Politico's Publishing Ltd; illustrated edition edition (4 Jun 2007)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1842752103
- ISBN-13: 978-1842752104
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 15.7 x 4.1 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 500,509 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Professor Peter Hennessy, Queen Mary, University of London
'This is what memoirs should be like, but political ones all too
rarely are.'
rarely are.'
Peter Riddell, The Times
'A unique, and often witty, insight into the inner workings of the
Blair government.'
Blair government.'
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
It is odd to read this book while the Labour bubble, following Northern Rock, lost HMRC discs, botched election planning and donorgate, is fast deflating. It captures the enthusiasm of Labour's earlier period in office. Barber himself seems remarkably smart and able and he pleas early in the book that we should appreciate our politicians more. Most are presented sympathetically in this book. To this detached reader he sings Labour's praises rather too loudly and lays into the 'directionless' Major years without providing key evidence about why they were so bad (he starts by praising Gillian Shepherd as education minister and Blair saying ideas shouldn't be ruled out because they are Conservative ones). At the end of 2007,Labour's experiment of throwing cash at public services seems to have failed and the public finances are now in far poorer shape than they were in 1997. There are interesting vignettes, particularly surrounding the civil service mentality (any supporter of small government will read this and be appalled) and the importance of sending the right message to the Press. Also, most telling of all, is Labour's (especially Blair's) lack of experience of running anything when they came to office. I suppose the best you could say is that they tried and meant well, but how much better managed are public services today? , More parents are opting out of state education where they can afford it(as Barber himself did), the NHS remains a monolith, and few people would describe UK transport as a shining success story. The wider public will be profoundly sceptical. But this is a compelling, revealing portrait of life inside Number 10.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Getting stuff done is difficult in any organisation. But if you're trying to reconstruct the UK public services, then it's about as tough as it gets.
Barber does a great job in revealing the detail and struggle. It's an excellent book.
It's equally appropriate for business, public sector and third sector.
Somewhere in the book he talks about "Grind, not Grand" and that about sums it up.
Barber does a great job in revealing the detail and struggle. It's an excellent book.
It's equally appropriate for business, public sector and third sector.
Somewhere in the book he talks about "Grind, not Grand" and that about sums it up.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
1 review
2 of 6 people found the following review helpful
government at its best
22 July 2008
Format:Hardcover
Anyone working in or near government should read this book! It offers instights into how government can work and should work with a little leadership and a good team. It is possible for government to achieve meaningful goals!
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