DC Confidential

by Sir Christopher Meyer

Riveting and candid memoir of life behind the scenes as US Ambassador and Prime Minister's Press Secretary - a Sunday Times bestsellerChristopher Meyer was Ambassador to the United States from 1997 to 2003, during which time he was an eyewitness to and participant in the events following 9/11 and the preparations for the Iraq war. Never before has there been such a riveting and candid memoir of life behind the diplomatic scenes. Meyer's is an honest account of what he saw, what he heard and how he felt.The cast list of characters who feature here includes Margaret Thatcher, Bob Hope, the Clintons, Steven Spielberg, Condoleeza Rice, Alastair Campbell and Jack Straw. The book reveals close encounters with Tony Blair, Robin Cook and Peter Mandelson; KGB honey traps in Russia; a major row with Bill Clinton; inside stories on Number 10 and the Foreign Office; and of course life behind the scenes with Blair and George W. Bush. It was clear that the Prime Minister's office and not the Foreign Office would control relations with Washington, and Meyer shows in close up how he helped facilitate the 'special relationship'.

Genres: Nonfiction

320 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 21, 2011

Reviews

[Henry Bingham]

This man is so desperate to always be right but after about halfway through it just becomes comical rather than infuriating. "I told the Prime Minister not to say it but he did anyway. What a disaster that turned out!" or "I always knew it was a good idea, it's a shame they never listen to me". Yeah alright buddy, calm down.

On a more serious note, not a bad required read: an interesting point of view/behind-the-scenes look and an unfamiliar topic for me.

[Gab Stripp]

I started reading this with moderate expectations, but ended up really enjoying it and took the opportunity of a couple of flights to get right into it. Sir Christopher really understands the importance of modernising diplomacy. I enjoyed his reflections on how to manage diplomacy when there are political differences (as was the case initially between Blair British Labor and W Bush Republican).