- Paperback: 224 pages
- Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC; illustrated edition edition (25 Sep 1997)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0747537755
- ISBN-13: 978-0747537755
- Product Dimensions: 20.1 x 14.5 x 2.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,211,743 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
This is the story behind the five-week Tatton campaign during the 1997 British General Election in which journalist Martin Bell unseated Neil Hamilton. The author was in Tatton throughout the campaign. He was given full access to the Bell camp, and followed the Hamiltons wherever they went, developing a hate-hate relationship with Neil and a love-hate relationship with his wife Christine. On one occasion, Sweeney was thrown out of Tory meetings, winked at by Christine, singled out for excoriation in Hamilton's speeches, confided in by dissident Tories and there for the end, the moment of Hamilton's exit, at 3 am on May 2nd. The book covers the rise and fall of the Hamiltons, and of Mr Bell going to Westminster. John Sweeney is the author of "The Lives and Evil Times of Nikolai Ceauscescu" and "Trading with the Enemy: How Britain Armed Iraq".
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Purple Homicide tells the story of the 1997 UK General election, and in particular the incredible fight for the constituency of Tatton between Neil Hamilton, former minister for corporate probity, and Martin Bell, ex of the BBC and completely new to the dirty world of politics.
The book, essentially Sweeny's memories of the month leading up to election day, balances the serious, funny and downright surreal sides of the campaign, all brilliantly brought to life by Martin Rowson's cartoons. A book I would recommend to anyone, but would particularly appeal to those who stayed up to watch the downfall of the Tory Party in 1997. A truly marvellous read.
The book, essentially Sweeny's memories of the month leading up to election day, balances the serious, funny and downright surreal sides of the campaign, all brilliantly brought to life by Martin Rowson's cartoons. A book I would recommend to anyone, but would particularly appeal to those who stayed up to watch the downfall of the Tory Party in 1997. A truly marvellous read.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Any book which has a character known as Julia Heartless-Bastard,plus a forward by David Soul(who was either Starsky or Hutch,I`m not sure which)has got to be worth investigating. And so it proved.It`s an account of the battle between Martin Bell(better known for TV reports from wartorn places) and Neil Hamilton(better known for taking bribes) for the allegedly safe Conservative seat of Tatton. It`s not entirely impartial;and neither should it be.And even though anyone with even the remotest interest in politics will be fully aware of the outcome,it`s a thoroughly intriguing look at the machinations of an election campaign..the contrast between the slickness of the Tories and the endearingly chaotic approach of their opponents is constantly apparent. I don`t think i`ve ENJOYED a book so much in years..a rivetting story brilliantly told.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book is not so much a treaties on political philosophy... Instead what we are treated to is life, imitating art, in a modern-day MacBeth and a very real battle for the truth. In 1997 the Conservative Party fought and lost the General Election with two hands tied behind their backs and a leg in chains. The cause of this predicament? Jeffery Archer, Neil Hamilton and Jonathon Aitken - men who held the public trust and who were found to be liars, cheaters, corrupt or all of the above. This book plots the fall of one of these three and the battle which was fought by an Independent Man (supported by Conservatives, Liberals and Labour supporters alike) to make a stand for truth and integrity.
It has been said that we all get the government we deserve. Martin Bell gave the people of Britain the hope that our expectations of representation can still be delivered. He allowed us to believe that if you separate the "party" from the "politics" in issues of standards that we can replace the hollow with the substantial. (It was particularly pleasing that in his four years as an MP he became hugely popular in Tatton and was widely regarded as a damn fine champion of his constituents).
This is a book about public vigilance that should be force-fed to all public servants in all countries and all students of politics. Let us see if our current government has taken these lessons on board, I for one fear the worst.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
one star is too good for this
i agree with other readers. this book is rubbish. the author sweeney writes as if he had picked up english from a dictionary. Read more
Published on 12 Aug 2005
More leftie propaganda
Mr Legend of Wellington knows nothing about gritty British politics. He obviously has some strange agenda here. Read more
Published on 25 Mar 1999
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