Writing Books

This reminds me that it can't be too hard to write a book. I don't know why. But it suddenly feels like it can't be too hard to write something coffee table like, with nice illustrations or photographs, get it designed and get a few copies printed up. I must be able to find something to write about planning and strategy for instance.

Giles has done it. Here is his book. It looks real pro.   

John Cole - As It Seemed To Me

When we cleared my Dad's house, there were a few books that I wanted to read before passing on or tossing out. One of these was an early biography of Tony Blair, before he became Prime Minister, which I haven't posted about, and there is this one, 'As It Seemed To Me' by ex BBC political correspondent, John Cole, who was a regular fixture on TV during the eighties and early nineties. So much so that the satirical TV programme, Spitting Image, parodied him.

His memories are interesting, though quite dry. He clearly is a decent guy who doesn't want to offend and treads lightly when he is in disagreement with something, for example Thatcherite policies. There is a really interesting section in which he divides politicians of all persuasions into two groups. One for whom "events fortify their original political creeds or prejudices" and others for whom their dogmas are refined or modified by experience. He clearly prefers the latter category.

It is also interesting looking back at the huge difference between the 1970's and the Labour (and to a lesser degree Conservative) attempts to deal with double digit inflation, having to negotiate incomes policy with the unions on an ongoing basis and compare that with the issues under the Thatcher governments who applied a monetary solution to economic problems, causing immense hardship in certain areas, and didn't try to reach an accommodation with the unions but instead defeat them. The difference between the two periods is even bigger for me due to my associations with each era. Bushy sideburns, glam rock and flared trousers in the early 1970s. As I was young is it all a bit 'grainy' in my memory as well as on the re-runs of the TV quality from that time. By the time we get to the 1980s it is straight jeans, post punk, even New Romantic dress sense, big shoulder pads and a sense of sometimes absurd fun and pretension.

War and Peace

It's a monumental read. I started in February when we were in ski-ing in The Alps and it has taken me almost until our summer holidays to finish it. There were periods where it was unputdownable and other periods where it was almost unpickupable. My favourite storyline/ character set were the Old Prince, Prince Andry, and Natasha. There was real verve and pathos in that story, especially when Andry was dying.

The big idea in the book? That history isn't just about the story of the leaders, and leaders are not the makers of history. It is the stories of many many many people and that history is created by movements beyond individuals. And if history is that way, so is society in the present.

The huge array of characters and the length of the book reinforce that. It is the stories of the peasants and the infantry as much as the story of two kings. (Look at the thickness! Here it is compared to my Mac Book Pro)

I have read War and Peace and Anna Karenina in the last couple of years. My grandmother gave them to Jill and I went we got married and it was for her that I embarked on them. To my mind the climax of Anna Karenina is one of the most gripping pieces of fiction I have ever read. I preferred it as a novel to War and Peace, though the themes developed in War and Peace are more interesting to me.

A Romance on Three Legs

A lovely book about the brilliant and eccentric pianist, Glenn Gould, and his obsessive search for the perfect piano and how to get a sound out of it as good as the sound in his head. 

So many things that are perfect in our heads are so imperfect in life that we give up on seeking what is right and best for us. Gould didn't. 

Alastair Campbell: The Blair Years

Alastair Campbell was officially Blair's press secretary, but in reality was so much more; adviser, strategist and 'spin doctor' and often claimed as the second most powerful man in Britain. It is a great insight into government, and particularly No. 10, from what is essentially the perspective of a strategic communications man. It is fast-paced and compelling reading, and though Campbell is not without flaws, I was rather taken by his straight talking style, touches of humour and emotion and his insights.

Not surprisingly, Blair himself comes out of the book rather well. One of his skills is to be able to move fluidly between policy areas and still keep hold of the overall strategy. And though that is clearly part of a PM's job it is still eye-opening the number of really important issues that a PM may have to deal with in a day: an meeting on peace in Northern Ireland, cabinet reshuffle, Middle East, National Heath Service, Millennium Dome, etc

My favourite single passage of the book described the time when Clinton visited the Labour party conference in Blackpool and fancied a walk back to his hotel rather than the car. A little coterie, including Kevin Spacey, and Campbell ended up having a bite to eat in a McDonald's and chatting away to the other diners. Commenting on the incident, Campbell writes, "He was like a man replenished, not because of the food but because he had been out with real people, and got something out of it".

"1966 and all that"

"1966 and all that" by Craig Brown. It is a satire of the famous historical satire "1066 and all that" by Sellar and Yeatman. Yummy, a satire of a satire! It is a trawl through twentieth century history, finely observed with frequent and outlandish puns that had us in stiches. It is hardly politically correct but it is hilarious, especially if you know the original. Here are some snippets:

"Mahatma Grandhi walked around India in his loincloth and Nehru jacket stirring up inaction. He advocated a new form of passive resistance, to be known as pacifistfight...Grandhi later put on ten stone to play the title role in 'Dikhi', the award-winning film based on the life of Lord Attenborough"

"For a year the Nazi War Machine bombarded London with 'Teach Yourself German'' pamphlets. This period came to be known as the Berlitz"

" Under New Labour, a new pop group came along, called Oasis. It consisted of the two elderly Gargler brothers, Loin and Mole. The names became synonymous with Cruel Britannia. It was easy to tell which was which. Loin was the brother who drank too much and was abusive whereas Mole was the brother who was abusive and drank too much. They swore, didn't shave, wore old clothes and burped. They were hailed as a breath of fresh air. They were proud to have written all their top ten hits themselves. These included 'Hey Jude', 'Yellow Submarine', ' Hello Goodbye', and also 'The Ballard of John and Yoko', which Loin said was about him and his girlfriend, Pasty Kissit"

Brilliant!
http://www.amazon.co.uk/1966-All-That-Craig-Brown/dp/0340897112