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  • The Powerful and the Damned

  • Private Diaries in Turbulent Times
  • By: Lionel Barber
  • Narrated by: Lionel Barber
  • Length: 13 hrs and 58 mins

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The Powerful and the Damned

By: Lionel Barber
Narrated by: Lionel Barber
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Publisher's Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

'As FT editor, I was a privileged interlocutor to people in power around the world, each offering unique insights into high-level decision-making and political calculation, often in moments of crisis. These diaries offer snapshots of leadership in an age of upheaval....'

Lionel Barber was editor of the Financial Times for the tech boom, the global financial crisis, the rise of China, Brexit and mainstream media's fight for survival in the age of fake news.

In this unparalleled, no-holds-barred diary of life behind the headlines, he reveals the private meetings and exchanges with political leaders on the eve of referendums, the conversations with billionaire bankers facing economic meltdown, exchanges with Silicon Valley tech gurus and pleas from foreign emissaries desperate for inside knowledge, all against the backdrop of a wildly shifting media landscape.

The result is a fascinating - and at times scathing - portrait of power in our modern age; who has it, what it takes and what drives the men and women with the world at their feet. Featuring close encounters with Trump, Cameron, Blair, Putin, Merkel and Mohammed Bin Salman and many more, this is a rare portrait of the people who continue to shape our world and who quite literally make the news.

©2020 Lionel Barber (P)2020 Penguin Audio

Critic Reviews

"An extraordinary personal and professional insight into 15 years of tumultuous times." (Tony Blair)

"Riveting - a world of power, money, ego and disaster, as witnessed from the front row." (Philippe Sands)

"Brutal, brilliant and scurrilously funny...don't miss it." (Misha Glenny) 

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