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  • The Blair Years

  • Extracts from the Alastair Campbell Diaries
  • By: Alastair Campbell
  • Narrated by: Alastair Campbell
  • Length: 6 hrs and 21 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (18 ratings)

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The Blair Years

By: Alastair Campbell
Narrated by: Alastair Campbell
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Publisher's Summary

Shortlisted for the British Book Awards, Biography of the Year, 2008.
Shortlisted for the Channel 4 Political Book Award, 2007.
Longlisted for the Audiobook Download of the Year, 2007.

The Blair Years is the most compelling and revealing account of contemporary politics you will ever hear. Taken from Alastair Campbell's daily diaries, these audio extracts chart the rise of New Labour and the tumultuous years of Tony Blair's leadership, providing the first important record of a remarkable decade in our national life.

Here are the defining events of our time, from Labour's new dawn to the war on terror; from the death of Diana to negotiations for peace in Northern Ireland; from Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq, through to the Hutton Inquiry of 2003. But above all, here is Tony Blair up close and personal, making the decisions that affected the lives of millions, under relentless and frequently hostile pressure.

Feared and admired in equal measure, hated by some, Alastair Campbell was pivotal to the founding of New Labour and the sensational election victory of 1997. As Blair's press secretary, strategist, and trusted confidant, Campbell spent more waking hours alongside the prime minister than anyone. His diaries take the listener right to the heart of government.

Unflinchingly told, The Blair Years covers the crises and scandals, the rows and resignations, the ups and downs of Britain's hothouse politics. There has never been so riveting a book about life at the very top, nor a more human book about politics, told by a man who saw it all.

©2007 Alastair Campbell (P)2007 Random House

Critic Reviews

"Campbell has a draught Guiness voice with a husky edge to it; he could narrate Chandler thrilers to perfection." (Christina Hardyment, The Times)
"These diaries are His Master�s Voice. They will be gasped at, and relied upon, for decades to come. Buy them, they will suck you in." ( The Times)
"It is electric: a tale of sound and fury." (Book of the Week, The Mail on Sunday)

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Interesting, if a bit sparse

Very interesting account by an impressive figure, but not filled with the details I was hoping for.
Well worth a read/listen if you like political history!!!

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