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DC Confidential (Hardcover)

by Christopher Meyer (Author)
3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 300 pages
  • Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson; First Edition edition (10 Nov 2005)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0297851144
  • ISBN-13: 978-0297851141
  • Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 16.4 x 4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 185,464 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #90 in  Books > History > Britain & Ireland > Post-war Period, 1946-Present

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Product Description

DUBLIN EVENING HERALD

'a gem of a book.'


Review

'a marvellously entertaining and readable book.' (Andrew Gilligan THE EVENING STANDARD )

'The chapters on 9/11 and on the Iraq War are totally absorbing and often quite moving.' (Cal McCrystal THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY )

'the book is of great value to anyone interested in diplomacy and foreign policy.' (Bruce Anderson THE INDEPENDENT )

'the delicious portraiture, razor-sharp character assessments and the sharing of undiplomatic discretions, are all beautifully, and often comically, presented.' (James Cusick THE SUNDAY HERALD )

'he provides some captivating insights into modern diplomacy and American life.' (Siobhan Murphy Metro )

'He tells a juicy tale.' (Simon Jenkins SUNDAY TIMES )

'this is an important book about what it was like to be Britain's most senior and lustrous ambassador at a time when the prime minister enjoyed a direct line to the White House for which there are few precedents.' (Martin Kettle THE GUARDIAN )

'For all his colourful and funny stories, the enduring value of his picture of the Blain years is the way Meyer shows this Government steadily ripping up the rules.' (Simon Edge DAILY EXPRESS )

'an entertaining and informative read.' (Sean Donlon THE IRISH TIMES )

'a masterpiece of elegance which places the steletto between New Labour's shoulder blades with panache.' (Clive Aslet COUNTRY LIFE )

'informative and enjoyable.' (Maurice Hayes IRISH INDEPENDENT )

'a gem of a book.' (DUBLIN EVENING HERALD )
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Customer Reviews

25 Reviews
5 star:
 (6)
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 (8)
3 star:
 (4)
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 (4)
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Average Customer Review
3.4 out of 5 stars (25 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
65 of 71 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Important book, but not compulsive reading, 12 Nov 2005
By Budge Burgess (Kilmarnock, Scotland) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)   
Written at times in an almost tabloid style - albeit a polite, educated, gentlemanly tabloid style - the account is certainly not a stuffy, academic description of one small (but vital) corner of foreign policy. Christopher Meyer was British ambassador to Washington from 1997 to 2003, so had a unique perspective on the agreement between Bush and Blair which led up to the Iraq invasion. Collusion, delusion, or deceit?

Meyer witnessed the demise of the Clinton presidency; a veteran of the diplomatic corps, he'd also seen Thatcher's foreign policy in action. He points to the spinelessness of Blair's approach compared to the Iron Lady's. Although Meyer supported the invasion of Iraq, he is quite disparaging about New Labour's conduct. Britain has effectively become a US poodle.

Meyer's book has caused acute embarrassment in political and diplomatic circles, and will almost certainly lead to further censorship of civil service memoirs and leaks. It provides a vital perspective on the workings of the Labour Party and its failure to think through the invasion and occupation of Iraq. There are anecdotes and insights aplenty, and it is a book which has its fascinating and entertaining passages, but it's not one which will be to everyone's taste.

If you are interested in politics and foreign policy, then this is an engaging and informative read. Serialised in the 'Guardian', it may be absorbing in small doses, but it's not really a book you'd choose for bedtime reading. It's essential message is that Blair has settled into a cosy little relationship with the US, so much so that British foreign policy is taken for granted by the White House. Any expose which throws light on the way our politicians behave is to be valued, but this is probably a book which is better read as edited highlights, not one which will rivet your attention from cover to cover.

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13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting but not that controversial, 25 Jan 2006
By A. Gordon "annettego" (London) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
Although there was a hoo hah when this book first came out I can't see that there is anything within it's pages that is hugely controversial. Meyer certainly doesn't condemn Blair wholesale as a poltician without any merit but as you read the book you do come to the understanding that Blair's political preferences are not the same as Meyers. Nevertheless Meyer was a diplomat and by his account anyway seems to have executed his duties nuetrally and very helpfully for his country.

The book is full of anecdote but hardly any real polticial gossip. He's very carefully to say nice things about almost everyone and if he is disparaging about Blair and New Labour it's nothing we haven't already read in the press. If anything he strives to give a rounded, balanced, diplomatic view of Blair and friends although it is possible to detect a note of disgruntlement that his efforts were not always appreciated by Blair and often suspected. Meyer would not be the first person in public life to feel this way about our current glorious leader - he joins quite a list of disgruntled ministers and back benchers.

My conclusion is that it's worth reading and gives you a fascinating insight into the goings on in Washington during a very tumultuous period. This book is also a good explanation of exactly what amabassadors and diplomats do for us in far flung places.

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16 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars When I Ran The World, 11 Sep 2006
By Ms. K. Hall (London) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: DC CONFIDENTIAL : The Controversial Memoirs of Britain's Ambassador to the US at the Time of 9/11 and the Run-up to the Iraq War (Paperback)
Having read a lot of political memoirs, I started this book expected the author to be unreserved in praise for his own abilities - as most politicians are - but I was hoping that in between all that, there would also be some insights into how Washington worked. Well, I wasn't wrong about the arrogance of the author, but I was disappointed by the lack of insights he had. He mentioned at the beginning that civil servants had to be neutral in their political leanings. Well, by the end, it seemed he was as in love with the Bush administration as he is with himself. One thing that I did learn was that the British Ambassador to the US in fact is the one person who knows everything and advises everyone and basically runs the world, while the President and Prime Minister are just figureheads to do his bidding.
But possibly the most disconcerting moment came when he was describing his first meeting with his wife. It was very much like Captain Renault in Casablanca (but without the charm)when Renault's assistant announces 'Another visa problem, sir'; [Renault straightens tie and looks smug], 'Send her in.' Really really creepy and downright unprofessional for an ambassador meeting with a woman who was trying to get visitation rights with her children. Although I lost sympathy for her when she said that George Bush Snr was the handsomest man in the US - has she never seen a picture of George Clooney ... or any other man, come to that? Between that and her French friend saying that she didn't mind that all through dinner Donald Rumsfeld slated France because 'he was so handsome', you start to wonder what they put in the water in the Embassy!
Don't bother with this book.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Precious and privileged
I came to these Meyer Memoirs immediately after reading the Alistair Campbell Diaries of the Blair Years. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Graham Hooker

2.0 out of 5 stars The Careerist as Maverick
I have to say that this is one of the dullest books I have read in the past year, a view and fact which is well reflected in its used value on this site: one penny! Read more
Published 21 months ago by ianrmillard

3.0 out of 5 stars Not the definitive expose - Meyer could have given more
I am impressed with Christopher Meyer's bluntness on TV after leaving his diplomatic post for the Press Complaints Commission. Read more
Published on 30 May 2007 by Graham Brown

3.0 out of 5 stars Bill Bryson joined the FCO
Don't let the cover deceive you, this is not a book especially concerned with telling a tale about the inner thoughts of the Blair government in the run up to the invasion of Iraq... Read more
Published on 23 Mar 2007 by Exmatelote

2.0 out of 5 stars Not as interesting as it should have been.
Meyer spends so much time burbling on about his wife's battles to get access to her children (which is obviously very sad but not particularly relevant to a book about UK/US... Read more
Published on 20 Feb 2007 by Chancellor Valorum

4.0 out of 5 stars Worth reading
This book isn't that good at all, but you have to read it to see how stupid some of our senior UK politicians have been when using whatever power or leverage they have over Bush... Read more
Published on 21 Nov 2006 by Rainmaker

5.0 out of 5 stars From C. F. Rousseau
What is really good about this book is that it explains to the none expert readers how foreign policy works in a lively and most amusing style.
Published on 16 Aug 2006 by C. Rousseau

2.0 out of 5 stars Not convinced
Although I found the book interesting, somehow I had the feeling it was not really genuine. I would have liked to read more about his opinions on the facts, rather than another... Read more
Published on 11 Aug 2006 by LauraUK

1.0 out of 5 stars Nothing to report.
Having found Meyer a rather affable and agreeable guy in his post ambassadorial TV performances, I made this purchase fully expectant of an entertaining and insightful depiction... Read more
Published on 26 Jul 2006 by J. Mccormick

4.0 out of 5 stars a real page-turner
I read this book like a novel, finding it hard to put down. Meyer's opinions and observations are trenchant, funny and naughty. Read more
Published on 22 Jul 2006 by Andrewmac

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