|
Spin Doctor's Diary | 
 enlarge | Author: Lance Price
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton Ltd
Category: Book
List Price: £16.99
Buy New: £0.93
You Save: £16.06 (95%)
New (16) Used (22) Collectible (2) from £0.01
Rating:  8 reviews
Sales Rank: 169648
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 300
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 8.7 x 5.4 x 1.4
ISBN: 0340898224
Dewey Decimal Number: 320
EAN: 9780340898222
ASIN: 0340898224
Publication Date: September 26, 2005
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
| |
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 3 more reviews...
 Not worth the bother. January 25, 2008
K6 (Scotland)
Very disappointed with this book, I realise the writing was taken from his diaries, but was it really necessary to let us know every time he was praised for doing his job? Simply comes across as smug.
For a much more engaging read, get the AC diaries, at least he deals with more interesting subjects, less of the day to day minutie.
Flatters to deceive December 27, 2007
distantecho (North Yorkshire)
I came to these diaries eagerly having just re-read all three superb volumes of the Alan Clark diaries and in the mood for more political insight. Clark was always going to be a hard act to follow and Price failed miserably. Diarists by their very nature are self obsessed, which in Clarks case was a positive as he was a naturally fascinating character. In Prices case it is a major drawback as he is on the evidence of this offering dull and one dimensional.
These diaries are dominated by the diarists homosexuality, a fact we are made aware of immediately and reminded of on nearly every page and which rather quickly begins to grate. We are treated to reams on the outing of Peter Mandelson and section 28, a regular listing of the Twigs and Bradshaws and other gay New Labourites and very little of any political substance. We are told of "wet kisses" from Chris Smith and the endless holidays that Price shares with his partner but of the Ecclestone affair or the Hinduja scandal barely a murmer.
Another aspect that seriously compromises the "readability" of the diairies is the necessity to explain to us who everyone is after each mention. Most people reading these diaries will be in some way "political" and probably won't need to be told who Andrew Marr is or that Byers first name is Stephen or that Al Gore was Vice President of the United States!
All in all a huge disappointment.
 A more honest appraisal than Campbell's "The Blair Years" August 19, 2007
K. BINDING (UK)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
As far as one can tell (and that's a big if), this seems to be a far more forthright, honest and unexpurgated account of the latter half of Blair's first term than is given in Alastair Campbell's opus. As other reviewers have commented, Price's book gives an unedifying insight in to the extraordinary obsession that No 10 had with form over substance - with media headlines rather than underlying policy - during this period.
Although pro-Mandelson, Price gives riveting accounts of the man's vanity, arrogance and petulance and, as noted elsewhere, interesting insights in to John Prescott's role in maintaining some semblance of unity as between Old and New Labour during this turbulent period.
It's an easy, human and enjoyable read that doesn't suffer the major weakness of the Campbell book, namely the latter's clear concern to show himself in as good a light as possible. Here is one spin doctor who seems to have given up spinning while putting pen to paper, and the book is much the better for it.
 Inner workings of the Labour government May 14, 2007
G. L. Haggett (UK)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Detailed insight into the inner workings of the Labour government between 1998 and 2001. This is an important book for what it tells us about the gestation and presentation of those policies which affect our day-to-day lives and it clearly benefits from being written by someone whose life is all about communication. The detail of what actually goes on in the offices where the policies and initiatives are devised and their presentation is decided upon brings the political process much closer to the layman reader.
There are occasional snipes and bitchy comments where Price seems to be determined to live down to the stereotype of the [...] man, but all in all the approach is very measured, lending both authority and credibility to what is being said.
worth reading November 21, 2006
Rainmaker (England)
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
This is another one of those books that I think you have to read if you want to understand more about the inner working of New Labour. It's not very flattering to some ministers but other are shown in a better light than they typically are by the media. Got to say though that the more I read about this Labour government, the less I respect them.
|
|
|
www.pcprotech.co.uk | |
