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A Journey: My Political Life

3.37 of 5 stars 3.37 · rating details · 1,208 ratings · 221 reviews

In 1997, the biggest Labour victory in history swept England, ending eighteen years of Conservative government. Prime Minister Tony Blair — young, charismatic and complex — shaped the nation profoundly in the ten years that followed. From his work in Northern Ireland to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, few of his decisions were free from scrutiny and debate. Alternately b...more

Hardcover, 720 pages

Published September 2nd 2010 by Knopf Canada (first published January 1st 2010)

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May 02, 2013 Caroline rated it 3 of 5 stars

General spoiler alert (the book is discussed in detail)

I’m writing this review because a couple of friends have said it is okay to do so, in spite of my appalling political ignorance. If you are seeking wide-ranging insights, stop here. For the most part I am simply going to plonk down what I understand that Tony Blair did and did not achieve – and I offer no criticism on any of his policies.

I liked the book, and felt that Blair wrote it with much honesty; I felt that I got to know the man, his...more

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Feb 05, 2012 Mark rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Gordon Brown

Shelves: audiobooks, autobiography-biography

This is a difficult book to review really, To be flippant, as I reflected on which shelves to place it I did wonder about placing it on fantasy or surreal and i suppose in some ways it would fit loosely onto 'history' but all in all, though i am pleased I read it and I suppose every arch critic of Mr Blair ought to, yet i still finished it feeling a little dissatisfied and disgruntled. Why, I am not totally certain.

On a number of occasions he spoke of Gordon Brown, who i have to confess i have e...more This is a difficult book to review really, To be flippant, as I reflected on which shelves to place it I did wonder about placing it on fantasy or surreal and i suppose in some ways it would fit loosely onto 'history' but all in all, though i am pleased I read it and I suppose every arch critic of Mr Blair ought to, yet i still finished it feeling a little dissatisfied and disgruntled. Why, I am not totally certain.

On a number of occasions he spoke of Gordon Brown, who i have to confess i have even less time for than Mr Blair, as having no clear vision of where he wanted his Primeministership to lead the country but I did not feel, at anytime, that Blair clearly sets out what his vision was. He lists 'lots of things' his Government achieved, and I do not think it can be argued with that he did achieve a great deal of good in his ten years in Office, but the greatly trumpeted third way or concensus politics does not feature clearly here. He sends up all sorts of comments and slogans but i did not feel I had much of a clearer vsion of the actual philosophy behind it by the end of this then i had at the start.

He is, by his lights, very honest and up front. Inevitably, in any memoir, there will be much self excusing and defense and I do not think he indulges this anymore than I would if i were in his position. He speaks from a position of confidence and certainty, verging on the arrogant, where, on a number of occasions, he speaks of how he dealt with this situation or this crisis as good as anyone and better than most. I paraphrase but that is certainly the impression left to me from his account. I found this confidence acceptable in the sense that he is a man who quite clearly is led by conviction and his understanding of the world and it would be more unsettling I suppose if he changed with the wind. Indeed towards the end he has an extended reflection on how he changed from being a politician who knew the way the wind was blowing with public opinion and would harness that to how he recognized that a leader ought to be prepared to lead and not be blown about by a seeking after popularlity. I found I respected this in him, for this honest attempt to be true to himself and his outlook on the world but I struggled with the fact that throughout the book this honesty never seemed to crystallize into any real ackonwledgement of any substantial mistakes. He never seemed to acknowledge that he made any incorrect decisions except those in relation to political actions which had repercusions for his own political life. (Mostly concerning, it seems, Brown and Ed Balls).

It is an interesting opening out of a majorly significant decade in UK political life and, of course, the disastrous or noble, depending on your stance, involvement in the 'War on Terror'. His attempt to explain his mindset and reflective process here was always going to be a tought sell as he recognizes. Personally I was wholly against the War in Afghanistan and uncertain about Iraq but it was important for me to at least give him the opportunity to express his reasoning without the undoubtedly hypocritical and two faced British Press throwing in its disingenuous halfpennyworth. I still am unconvinced about the justification for the action as Western Governments leave all sorts of tyrants and thugs in power when it suits but i did leave the chapters on Iraq feeling at least more clear in my own mind that Blair was honest even if, in my opinion, mistaken. Is this the clever plan of a master-spinner or the sincere words of a genuine man of principle. At the risk of drawing down an avalanche of raspberries upon myself, I would say the latter.

The book was full of self-justification but what politician or indeed human being would not take the opportunity to explain and dissect. Blair defends and upholds friendships and talent that he recognizes. It is a memoir in which he acknowledges and affirms hard choices and those who supported him in them. If team GB...(Gordon Brown his successor as British Prime Minister until 2010 for those unaware of the UK Political Scene) come in for some criticism it is no more than an understandable human reaction to back biting and back room coups.

The memoir, to be fair, did not strike me as a huge character attack on Blair's enemies real or imagined but rather was an attempt to explain his journey as he saw it from populist, charismatic can-do-no-wrong hero swept in on the tide of hoped for change after nigh on two decades of conservative rule to a man of principle and vision, confident in that vision but also conscious that his time had come to an end. I would venture to say that he did strike me in this as more unattractively cocksure than i found comfortable but perhaps that is me. His hope to fix in stone his vision and plan for continual change was hamstrung by Gordon Brown's taking over of the reins but he did seem to see that that would always be the way of ex-leaders. His final weeks in Office were ones in which, unlike the vast majority of previous Prime Ministers he was leaving, to a certain extent, of his own accord.

On a nit-picky note i found his use of 'with-it' language a bit annoying. One of the most ridiculous was when we were told that Clare Short was 'dissing him' in public and private. Now I am sorry but the man is 50 and lives in middle class England, this awkward use of the 'language of the street' is jarring and silly. There were a number of such occasions and his editor needs to tell him and indeed all editors need to tell all men and women of a certain age that no matter how much 'street' and 'hip' language they seek to insert in their books it is not going to get people reading the books any more than before. Being one with the people is great but act your age and use your own vocabulary, adopting poses and slang never works. (less)

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Aug 04, 2011 Andrea rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography

I'm glad I read this, don't let 2 stars dissuade you. But get it from your beloved public library like I did please, you know, the ones that are getting cut. He doesn't deserve your money, that's for sure. There's so much to say, but I'll keep this as short as I can.

Mr Blair is certainly very clever. This is like a little babbling brook of cleverness, a little superficial stream of frankness and honesty. There is very little of substance here. I can't even tell if what's written is as deep as he...more I'm glad I read this, don't let 2 stars dissuade you. But get it from your beloved public library like I did please, you know, the ones that are getting cut. He doesn't deserve your money, that's for sure. There's so much to say, but I'll keep this as short as I can.

Mr Blair is certainly very clever. This is like a little babbling brook of cleverness, a little superficial stream of frankness and honesty. There is very little of substance here. I can't even tell if what's written is as deep as he goes; tragic as that would be, it seems entirely possible. Cleverness abounds, but there is little wisdom to be found. This book reads like a political manoeuvre in itself, which I am fairly certain it is. I'm just not sure what he's angling for.

I think it probably gives a fairly good sense of the day-to-day politicking, the characters and constant maneuvering and wheeling and dealing that makes government go round. That Blair is a master of that sort of thing goes without question. That he captured some kind of spirit and hope in the voters also goes without question, given Labour's election to three terms. Trying to think through how he did that is interesting from a radical left perspective though sadly there isn't much of substance here to help get a grip on it. I also liked his key principles of resolution from the chapter on Northern Ireland, I thought they were actually practical and useful, particularly in the importance of seeing things through over a decade or more.

What I didn't appreciate? That I still have no bloody idea what exactly he means by "New Labour". Ironic, given how many times he repeats that it is a clear policy programme rather than a political sleight-of-hand to get elected as most of his party seemed to believe. He calls it at one point, "tough on crime, pro-gay rights" politics. It's obviously a departure from old labour, what I would have liked is a clear rendering of how it differs from the tories -- apart from some compassionate spending and some "slanting to the poor" from the same space. In fact, I don't understand why he calls himself labour at all, praising Thatcher and Bush and the current government's direction under Cameron. I really want to think more about the language of this, how the very idea of what is progressive has been twisted, and our view of what is possible narrowed into this travesty of 'innovative' and 'modern' thinking within conservative, neoliberal confines.

I hated this facile and constant equation of modernisation and innovation with privatisation. I fail to see how that is innovative, though it does fill party coffers. This position forces him into some uniquely half-assed analysis of the current crisis at the very end. He tries to minimise the role of business. Hard to do.

I hated his repeated sound bite that the left just doesn't get 'aspiration'. There's a lot of sound bites in this book, and this was the worst.

The section on Iraq? In my considered opinion? Yikes. Entirely self-serving, and I know he's smarter than to believe that the Bush entourage was not talking about Iraq from the beginning. To skate over the whole build-up to the invasion was pretty shocking. To argue even now that it has made the US and UK safer? Ridiculous.

About the G-8 "Of course the big cost is security, yet somehow this is the leaders' fault for having the temerity to meet and talk about world affairs, rather than that of the motley variegated protestors who, unrestrained, could run amok." No wonder he finds the tories natural allies.

I imagine that most of the people mentioned in here were cringing, whether they were praised or panned. And Gordon Brown? This was sort of a non-characterisation. For much of the story he's just an intelligent, Machiavellian and somewhat delusional obstacle. Kind of an opportunist block.

The main messages? Progressives must improve and modernise (ie privatise, interesting definition of the modern and the progressive). Britain needs America to be a big power, so it should swallow anything and pretend to like it (as Blair has done -- in fact the whole intro is a surprising paean to how great and misunderstood America is), but if we can weld the EU into a powerful unit then maybe we can stop pandering quite so much. Leaders have to lead, they can't listen to people when they believe they are in the right -- but being in touch with the people is how they get power in and over their party. Bit of a muddled message, but it's all slippery and slick beneath a veil of false candour. Much like his time in office, so I suppose it's fitting. (less)

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Jan 04, 2013 Ryan Scicluna rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: borrowed-from-library

A good perspective into Britain from 1990 to 2005/7. It is a heavy read and in the end quite repetitive. Here Tony Blair tries to picture himself as an honest, good willed man. Some people are quite dubious of that. What I can agree with is that he is a good leader in a sense that he did take the unpopular decisions at the time if that was what was needed. I think he is a great politician especially on foreign policy.

This book is a good read if one is interested in politics but I suggest you re...more

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Sep 02, 2010 Marwan Asmar marked it as to-read · review of another edition

This maybe a good book to read because of its layback style, if not for its politics that must be revealing in itself. Reviewers are pointing to the unexpected, chatty way he says things which is not at all expected from an Oxford-educated politician.

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Aug 09, 2011 Will James added it · review of another edition

Tony Blair's memoir is perhaps best summed up in the one word which could best characterise his decade in Number 10: infuriating. Just as Blair seems to be getting somewhere in dissecting an important political issue, off he goes into some self-congratulatory account of how he's great chums with Bono, Bob Geldof, Kevin Spacey or Steven Speilberg, reminding you of all the celebrity-worship that featured through the 10 years of his premiership.

Add to this Blair's irritating tendency to fill endle...more Tony Blair's memoir is perhaps best summed up in the one word which could best characterise his decade in Number 10: infuriating. Just as Blair seems to be getting somewhere in dissecting an important political issue, off he goes into some self-congratulatory account of how he's great chums with Bono, Bob Geldof, Kevin Spacey or Steven Speilberg, reminding you of all the celebrity-worship that featured through the 10 years of his premiership.

Add to this Blair's irritating tendency to fill endless paragraphs with a seemingly endless stream of consciousness and pseudo-religious claptrap - e.g. "To be human is to be frail. At points of supreme challenge, such confidence and courage can be summoned forth, as can acts of incredible selflessness and sacrifice, but no person is ever such a character all the time." Ugh!

The complete lack of structure - the way that Blair seems to lurch from one topic to another without explanation - and his horrendous prose is perhaps the worst aspect of 'A Journey'; it leaves you feeling that this was probably a really good first-draft of a memoir that for some reason made it to print without any proof-reading. At all. Whatsoever.

The greatest disappointment from this is that it is so unexpected. While Blair was never a Churchill or Pitt the Younger when it came to rhetoric, he was a fantastic showman, whose speeches would more than usually captivate the listener, compared to both his predecessor and his successor. Perhaps I should have bought the audio book.

This is not to say that 'A Journey' is not a valuable piece of political literature, or that at times it is an enjoyable read. The content is - for the most part - very interesting, in particular his defence of his foreign policy, his law and order policies and his views on progressive centre-left politics in the 21st century. However, it is in many places light on details. While he devotes three chapters to Iraq, only one concerns the six year deployment of troops to Basra Province, and the strategy British forces followed there. He praises Bush's 2007 surge for saving Iraq from catastrophe, but doesn't explain why he pursued an entirely opposite strategy in the South, which saw UK troops make sordid deals with Iranian-backed militias. Any discussion of these issues are entirely absent.

Nonetheless, 'A Journey' does reveal insights into Blair's premiership that cannot be found elsewhere. An essential resource for this era in British political history.(less)

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Sep 03, 2012 Andy rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, autobiography

I'm not sure why I read this. I don't read political memoirs and I never voted for Blair (in the elections I was able to vote in) but I quite liked him and his political take in the early days. For me, New Labour came in at the height of the Britpop/'Cool Britannia' era, approaching the end of my teens. An important time personally but I wasn't that politically minded back then. Current stronger political opinion (and knowledge) aside I feel he did a fair amount of good for the country and despi...more

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Jul 16, 2012 Jeff rated it 3 of 5 stars

This was an okay read. At well over 600 pages, I was concerned it would go into excruciating detail on too many topics. But, actually, I found it to be the opposite. Obviously, as the Prime Minister for 10 years of a middle sized country, he's a busy man, involved in many things. But he breezed through way too many things with scant attention paid to them. The "Mad Cow" epidemic got 2.5 pages. The funeral of Diana got maybe 2 pages. Their involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan did merit a whole cha...more

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Jun 16, 2012 Jim rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Tony Blair, the former British Prime Minister, wrote this book. It's about his period as leader of the Labour Party and Prime Minister (mostly), though he does mentions the parts of his earlier life, as it fits into the story he wanted to tell.

To be honest, I found this book smug and slightly infuriating. I've now read both George Bush's and Tony Blair's book (I was interested in the run up to war) and this book was (without a shadow of a doubt) the more irritating of the two.

In the book Blair d...more Tony Blair, the former British Prime Minister, wrote this book. It's about his period as leader of the Labour Party and Prime Minister (mostly), though he does mentions the parts of his earlier life, as it fits into the story he wanted to tell.

To be honest, I found this book smug and slightly infuriating. I've now read both George Bush's and Tony Blair's book (I was interested in the run up to war) and this book was (without a shadow of a doubt) the more irritating of the two.

In the book Blair describes himself as a moralist with a vision "for good" who changed the Labour for moral reasons, and started wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Sierra Leone, and Kosovo for much the same reason.

I found his thinking about Kosovo perhaps the most illuminating part of the book. His (and Bill Clinton's) use of the armed forces in Kosovo enabled him to liberate Kosovans and bring down a tyrant (in Milosovic). Part of me wonders whether this changed his thinking towards the potential effectiveness of military action that lead him to Iraq and Afghanistan. I don't know for sure, but I honestly think it does, and that's a shame because it clearly went horribly wrong the second time round for him.

Anyway, why do I spend so much time talking about war and Blair? Well, let's face it, that's why I suspect that people will read the book. It's also because Blair spends a lot of the book writing about it. Consequently it's work mentioning.

But what's the rest of the book like? Well, as I said, it's smug. Blair talks a lot about "moral force" and "moral vision." With Bush you know you're going to get a moral "tilt" to his writing because he's never claimed to be anything else. Blair, on the other hand was presented as "less that way." Had he been as explicit about his "moral vision" before the got elected, I don't think he'd have been as successful as a leader.

Reading this book forced me to compare what I had seen him present then and what he presents now, and it grated. If you don't know Blair as well or can put up with how he presents himself, you'll probably learn something from this book. If you do know Blair or find "ostentatious morality" irritating you might find this book irritating (or want to throw the book across the room).(less)

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Apr 07, 2012 Joyce rated it 3 of 5 stars

Parts of this book are terrific, and parts are extremely boring. At least a third of this book should have been moved into an Appendix. If this had been done, it would have been a vastly improved book.

Because the good parts are so good, I still recommend this book. But expect to skip around a lot.

The best parts: the section about the Northern Ireland peace talks; his descriptions of how New Labour broke new ground; the sections on "lessons learned"; and the political struggles with Gordon Brown...more

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May 20, 2011 Jo rated it 1 of 5 stars

This is one of the very few autobiographies I just couldn't finish. I LIKE autobiographies -- and political ones are usually good as they give me behind the scenes insight & I like political autobiographies of folks in my lifetime even better for that reason. I was looking forward to a good read, but it became quite tedious after a few chapters. I forced myself to continue but ultimately couldn't force myself to finish it. The book might be more interesting for those with an understanding or...more

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May 05, 2011 Aaron rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Tony Blair was the Prime Minister of Great Britain for ten years starting in 1997. He was actually the most successful leader the Labour Party, Britain's center-left party, has had. Prior to his term, the party had never held onto control of Parliament once it was elected to the leadership.

I have always found him to be an interesting. He is definitely more to the leftish side of his party, but he also seemed willing to bring on conservative twists into the agenda to try and do what was thought...more Tony Blair was the Prime Minister of Great Britain for ten years starting in 1997. He was actually the most successful leader the Labour Party, Britain's center-left party, has had. Prior to his term, the party had never held onto control of Parliament once it was elected to the leadership.

I have always found him to be an interesting. He is definitely more to the leftish side of his party, but he also seemed willing to bring on conservative twists into the agenda to try and do what was thought to be best for the country. Before he even left office, there was talk that he should be selected as the president of the European Union. While that did not happen, he ended up being Europe's special representative on the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Blair's presentation of events is an interesting one. After a quick review of his youth, he brings readers into his political career. He does a nice job of highlighting major events such as the death of Princess Diana, 9/11, and the Iraq War. He also touches on major policy changes and issues that touched on his terms in office such as work on the national health system, reforming education, and winning the 2012 Summer Olympics for London.

Blair was also a major player on the international scale. The result is that we get some really interesting, first-hand perspectives on politicians such as Premier (now Prime Minister) Putin of Russia, Jacques Chirac and Nicholas Sarkozy (Presidents of France) and President George W. Bush of America. As when he is talking about fellow British politicians, he often refers to folks by their first names. This is really an interesting and humanizing approach.

I really appreciated his coverage of his family. It is clear how much he loves his wife Cherie and their children. He was fortunately to largely keep them out of the limelight, which is surprising since the British media can be even more sensational than the American press corps. Similarly, he cares a great deal for the folks he works with.

I was surprised to read about the schism that existed between Blair and Gordon Brown, his Chancellor of the Exchequer and the gentleman who succeeded him as Prime Minister. They had strong disagreements on how to approach issues, particular toward the end of Blair's leadership. Blair had evolved the Labour Party into a new mold (New Labour), but Brown was much more interested in shifting the party back to the older Labour Party platforms and programs. Blair predicted the lack of success that Brown would be confronted with as a result.

This is definitely not a book for everyone. I enjoy politics of all kinds, including those of Britain. It can be difficult to follow some of Blair's discussion of issues in Britain because of his regular referral to colleagues by their first names without a reference to their last name or their position in the government. My familiarity with the names meant I was able to keep track of who was who.(less)

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Apr 30, 2011 Mona rated it 4 of 5 stars

Loved it. Mr. Blair is a brilliant man-he shows what it takes to be a P.M.--looking at issues from all sides,and having the capacity to strategize constantly. He leaves nothing out,mainly due to his immaculate notes and journals he kept during his time in office. What really surprises me ,however,is his deep admiration for George Bush. Mmmm-don't quite get that, even though he gives his reasons for doing so.
Highly recommend this book,even though it took me ages to read,it was well worth it.

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Jan 30, 2011 Neil Mudde rated it 1 of 5 stars

I was looking forward to a good read, alas it became tedious after a few chapters, I then decided to read about specific topics, "Dianne" which was interesting, his view on the newer generation of royals, comparing it with the queen who is duty bound, upperclass, stiff and as far as I am concerned boring as all get out, the only good thing going for her, she maintains her looks, but I would imagine living for 85+ years and being waited on hand and foot, would not cause too much wear. Interesting...more

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Jan 03, 2011 Topher Hooperton rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

For a politician who embraced, and arguably embodied, the age of celebrity, it seems appropriate that Tony Blair has dutifully released a book that is more autobiography than political memoir (by his own admission), to sit alongside the scores of hardbacks by sport-stars, glamour models and reality TV contestants.

What follows is a personal account of the changes he went through as a world leader, and how it felt to be at the eye of the storm. It also forms a manifesto for the New Labour project...more

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Sep 26, 2010 Darren rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction

Solid, if unspectacular account of the rise and fall Of Tony Blair. A lot of the time I wondered if it was a work of fact or fiction. The Iraq saga as told is unsatisfactory, way to much self-justification of the errors made and not enough contriteness.

After skirting around the Blair/Brown relationship, it's finally addressed late in the book. Not too convincinally for me, Brown is portrayed as a constant corrosive and roadblock to Blair and his agenda. More self-justification in the reneging o...more

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Sep 10, 2010 Harpal rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Aside from the occasional, amusing anecdote, this book was mostly disappointing. Tony Blair revolutionized the Labour Party, and yet he spends a paltry 30 to 40 pages describing the development of his thought process into the "New Labour" transformation. Frankly, it's intellectually shallow enough that, after having read his book, I'm actually beginning to buy the allegations that New Labour was a less a coherent political philosophy and more an electoral strategy. The chapter about the Northern...more

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Oct 14, 2010 Marti Lewis rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: started-but-gave-it-up

Borrowed from NYPL ebooks.

Read 200 pages and stopped. Got tired of it. I think his editor said "write as much as you want and we'll keep it all in the book." Skimmed the chapter about Northern Ireland peace -- very important topic and a whole book could be written about it -- but very tiresome reading within this book. Loved some of the anecdotes, particularly about his stay at Balmoral in 1997. Did the editor do anything with this book?

It may just be me and the fact that I'm going through a v...more

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Dec 28, 2010 Adam rated it 4 of 5 stars

A great political book, especially for someone with interest in the UK or international relations. Blair gives a really honest portrait of his rise to power, his administration, his thought process, and his opinions on other world players and events. He has no problems pointing out the weakness of others, including his Tory opponents and other Labour members, including Gordon Brown. The constant tensions between Blair and Brown are definitely a running theme of the book. I particularly enjoyed B...more

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Feb 11, 2012 Judith rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: hot-books-read

A Journey: My Life in Politics by Tony Blair tells all, making this book a little longer than I would have preferred. However I would not have limited the scope -- beginning with the nature of Blair's political instincts and ambitions and moving on to strategy and policy, told in the frank, earnest tones of a man who has aimed very high and worked very hard. Occasionally defensive, he struggles with the mistrust that dogged him after the intelligence scandal and the non-existent WMDs in Iraq. Ha...more

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Jul 29, 2011 Simon Sundboell rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: owns

You can agree or disagree with Tony Blair and you can question his quest for - as another book title says - a legacy. But in my humble opinion, he is still one of the most charismatic leaders the world has seen in a long time - and combine that with his eloquence, flair for a good argument, modern view on UK and the world and his willingness to act (the latter is a long lost trait in many politicians today), and you have a world class leader.

In this book, he is honest - as honest as a autobiogra...more

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Jan 12, 2011 Joe Martin rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book caught my eye because I knew very little about Tony Blair. I knew he was the Prime Minister in Britain. I knew he was the leader of the Labour Party and a big government, big spending progressive. I knew he was President Bush’s staunchest ally in the war on terror. And, that’s about it. I really didn’t know anything about what he actually tried to accomplish in Britain or why. I didn’t know anything about who he was or what he made him tick. And, after reading Decision Points, I was in...more This book caught my eye because I knew very little about Tony Blair. I knew he was the Prime Minister in Britain. I knew he was the leader of the Labour Party and a big government, big spending progressive. I knew he was President Bush’s staunchest ally in the war on terror. And, that’s about it. I really didn’t know anything about what he actually tried to accomplish in Britain or why. I didn’t know anything about who he was or what he made him tick. And, after reading Decision Points, I was interested in his perspective on the events of the past decade.

Although long, this book was an enjoyable read. Blair writes with a light, conversational style that I really enjoyed reading. It could be a little distracting at times, as he would occasionally take a rabbit trail into the past. It was usually apparent when he did so, but I got confused about the timing of events a few times. That was a minor complaint as the style generally contributed greatly to the tone of the book.

As I read, I discovered that Tony Blair has a wonderful sense of humour. That’s matched with a very contemplative approach to life. For example, he recounted several times how stressed out he would get before a big speech, spending his time constantly writing and rewriting his text. He compared this to President Bush who was amazingly laconic before most speeches and never seemed to worry about the message or the delivery. (Some might say that those contrasting approaches showed up in the quality of speeches that each man gave.)

This book is exactly what it says on the cover: a story about the journey Blair took during his political life. It’s partly a history of the events of the past 30 years and partly a recounting of the decisions and actions that formed Blair’s own evolving outlook on life and politics. After reading the book, I came away thoroughly convinced that I would like Tony Blair as a person, even if I felt compelled to oppose many of his policies.

As to policies, I won’t spend a whole lot of time critiquing them. Blair and I are on different ends of the political spectrum, when it comes to the question of how involved and active government should be. It’s not really worth belabouring the point of all of the different ways in which we do disagree.

I was greatly impressed by Blair’s perception of the ways in which traditional big government liberalism and socialism is highly unsuited to our modern economic system and dynamic society. Blair clearly saw what was wrong with the Labour Party and with the government’s highly centralised approach to decision making. He saw that people were used to choice and used to firing incompetent providers in the private section. And he saw that the government’s provision of services wasn’t coming close to what people now expected. As a result, he spent his entire political career trying to reform the delivery and provision of government services. While I don’t agree with his solutions, I was very happy with his overall critiques of government services.

This comes across clearly in his definition of what it means to be a progressive.

First, what makes you a progressive? I would say: belief in social justice, i.e. using the power of society as a whole to bring opportunity, prosperity and hope to those without it; to do so not just within our national boundaries but outside of them; to judge our societies by the condition of the weak as much as the strong; to stand up at all times for the principle that all human beings are of equal worth, irrespective of race, religion, gender (I would add of sexuality) or ability; and never to forget and always to strive for those at the bottom, the poorest, the most disadvantaged, the ones others forget. Notice these are all values, not policies. They may beget policies.

… Third, there is a new divide in politics which transcends traditional left and right. It is what I call “open vs. closed.” Some right-wingers are free-traders, others aren’t. Likewise with the left. On both sides, some are pro-immigration, others anti-. Some favour an interventionist foreign policy; others don’t. Some see globalisation and the emergence of China, India and others as a threat; some as an opportunity. There is a common link to the free trade, pro-immigration (controlled, of course) interventionist and pro-globalisation political positions, but it is “open vs. closed,” not “left vs. right.” I believe progressives should be the champions of the open position, which is not only correct but also a winning position, as Bill Clinton showed conclusively. However, it is a huge and important dividing line in modern politics.

I would agree with this definition and, by it, I think I could call myself a progressive. I would place myself on the “open” side of his dividing line. I think Blair and I would merely (merely!) disagree on the policies that this definition begat.

I very much enjoyed this book as a look into the mind and growth of Tony Blair. It did exactly what a good political memoir should: it helped me to understand who he is, why he made the decisions he did, and how he grew as a result of his time in politics. Now that I’ve read it, I’m strongly rooting for him to have success in the Middle East peace process and I wish him well in his post prime ministerial career.(less)

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Jan 10, 2013 Hasan rated it 3 of 5 stars

It's very challenging to write an interesting and enjoyable autobiography, a notion that has been confirmed for the umpteenth time by this attempt by former British PM Tony Blair. It's dry, gets into the weeds of British politics (which I suppose is what you have to do if you're the former head of the British government) and goes on endlessly about his career-long problems with Gordon Brown.

It is also a strange book. Unlike an autobiography of by a U.S. President for example, this solely focuse...more

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Feb 09, 2011 Thomas Allen rated it 4 of 5 stars

I just finished off this audiobook and have come to the conclusion that Tony Blair is an extremely principled and honorable fellow. I already knew that, no matter the media attacks, his personal vision completely changed politics in Britain for the better on both sides of the political spectrum because it caused everyone to honestly evaluate the way they do business. This book addresses the hard decisions and personal pain over making those decisions that Mr. Blair had to endure. I may not agree...more

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Sep 22, 2011 Phillip rated it 5 of 5 stars

First of all, I "cheated." This was an audiobook, but it was read by PM Blair, so I don't care. And it also something like 16 hours long, so ... leave me alone.

But, it was great. I loved his discussion of "New Labour" and how he helped lead the minority party to its first win in 20 years. The evolution of the Tony Blair-Gordon Brown relationship, i.e., it's rise and fall, was also very intriguing.

The period of his premiership covered an interesting time in history: Rwanda, Kosovo, 9/11, Northern...more

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Sep 27, 2010 Tony Daniel rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography, history

Blair's account of his time in office as prime minister of England. Ended up really enjoying this. Blair is very good at constructing enough of an open and honest persona that you're willing to suspend your disbelief and allow that he's at least attempting to give you the straight story, at least by his own lights. You know you're being spun, but it's kind of enjoyable to watch how a master does it, even if you are the mark. He's also quite good at giving the reader glimpses of what he wants you...more

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Jan 10, 2011 Glyn rated it 4 of 5 stars

I liked Tony Blair.

As a young man in the early 1990s, I completely bought into his vision for change where the old political battle lines between left and right needed to be cast aside, and a new agenda, as a third way progressive should be embraced. But I fear he lost his way, as international events distracted him from the domestic mission. I'm sure many would say that his legacy is severely tainted by Iraq and Afghanistan, and I wanted to read this book to get an insight into the mind that wa...more

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Oct 04, 2010 Tom Coates rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really have no idea where to start with this one. It's written in a strange informal style that on occasion grates enormously, but makes it pretty readable at the same time. It's not revolutionary in insight - I doubt there's much here that people will be radically shocked by - but it spells out some of the stuff that he feels about the changing role of politics, which feels, well, right.

In a way, it's fascinatingly unspectacular, in mostly the right way. And it resembles Blair's Labour party...more I really have no idea where to start with this one. It's written in a strange informal style that on occasion grates enormously, but makes it pretty readable at the same time. It's not revolutionary in insight - I doubt there's much here that people will be radically shocked by - but it spells out some of the stuff that he feels about the changing role of politics, which feels, well, right.

In a way, it's fascinatingly unspectacular, in mostly the right way. And it resembles Blair's Labour party in that respect. He's not ideologically dogmatic - he doesn't care about the high concept view of the world. He's not interested in radicalism in the economy, and he doesn't believe in the Old Labour fascination with the worker. His view of the world is pragmatic, ideologically dull and probably roughly in the right place. He seems to think of the role of government as correlating more with management than flag-waving leadership. Seems about right to me.

There are great chunks, obviously, where you will disagree with some of the politics. His stance on the involvement of private companies towards the ends of his regime seem way over the top to me. His stance on the kinds of decisions Governments have to take that affect civil liberties is understandable, but I think profoundly dangerous - it's not reasonable to take some powers to government even if you won't abuse them, simply because you cannot trust that all subsequent governments will be as scrupulous as you were. I think his position on these issues is just wrong.

And obviously there's Iraq, which is something I have felt strongly about for years. And it's a hugely divisive issue. Blair doesn't convince me, but he does make me question some of my thoughts in that area, and give him a little bit more of the benefit of the doubt.

I think the big thing for me is that Blair actually does have an argument. You might not agree with his take on things, but this is true evidence that he had actually reasons for what he was doing, and that these reasons were (in his mind at least) pretty clear and worked through. He believes that there actually is a battle going on in the world for the soul of Islam, between the vast majority of Islamic people and a radicalised extreme that also happens to have it in for the West. He believes that rogue states with powerful weapons are dangerous. And he believes that a combination of Islamic extremism and those Rogue/Dysfunctional states in the world is a recipe for potential catastrophe in the West.

So he favours an interventionist approach to try and get rid of this radicalised component of Islam, while trying to welcome and work with other Muslim countries.

It's a position I've been mulling over since reading the book. As I've said, it doesn't necessarily completely convince me, but I've started to understand it more.

In the end, whether you 'like' this book is going to have a lot to do with whether you agree with Blair. I don't give this book four stars because I agree with Blair, I'm giving it four stars for giving me insight into a man that I strongly believed in but had major disagreements with. It's important for that purpose alone - to get an understanding of the psychology and the reasoning that led the world to its current position. Does that make sense?(less)

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Feb 07, 2012 Jim Behringer rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: memoir, nonfiction

Everyone who lived through this era should read Tony Blair's book on his years in office. Blair uses the book to give his view of what he was trying to (and did) achieve, and what his motives were. He never forgets that he is human, frail, and can be mistaken in his views (although his willingness to admit he could be wrong grew markedly less when he wrote about the final two years in office.

I had believed that President Bush knew there were no "Weapons of Mass Destruction" in Iraq, but Mr. Blai...more

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Apr 28, 2013 Dean MacKinnon-Thomson rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: politics

3/5

This is a man desperate to be understood, but is certainly not seeking forgiveness.

Blair covers all the key challenges, policy battles and personality clashes over his 10 years in charge.

Reasonably smooth writing style, but with unfortunate echoes of the messianic and martyrdom about it.

If like me you grew up under New Lab for the most part, this is essential political reading.

Biggest problem? Blair doesn't spend enough time on the new labour social agenda. Blair delivered on LGBTQ and wom...more

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About Tony Blair

Anthony Charles Lynton "Tony" Blair is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007, Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007 and Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007. On the day he stood down as Prime Minister, he was appointed official Envoy of the Quartet on the Middle East on behalf of the United Nations, the Europ...more

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Let Us Face the Future--: The 1945 Anniversary Lecture

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“What Dad taught me above all else, and did so utterly unconsciously, was why people like him became Tories. He had been poor. He was working class. He aspired to be middle class. He worked hard, made it on his merits, and wanted his children to do even better than him. He thought – as did many others of his generation – that the logical outcome of this striving, born of this attitude, was to be a Tory. Indeed, it was part of the package. You made it; you were a Tory: two sides of the same coin. It became my political ambition to break that connection, and replace it with a different currency. You are compassionate; you care about those less fortunate than yourself; you believe in society as well as the individual. You can be Labour. You can be successful and care; ambitious and compassionate; a meritocrat and a progressive. These are entirely compatible ways of making sure progress happens; and they answer the realistic, not utopian, claims of human nature.” — 1 person liked it

“The first rule in politics is that there are no rules, at least not in the sense of inevitable defeats or inevitable victories. If you have the right policy and the right strategy, you always have a chance of winning. Without them, you can lose no matter how certain the victory seems.” — 1 person liked it

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