Product Description

This volume of Paddy Ashdown's diary is a first-hand account of the efforts to build a centre-left strategy for defeating the Conservatives, gives insight into the management and structure of a modern political party, and also includes Ashdown's daily record.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2558985 in Books
• Published on: 2000-11-02
• Formats: Abridged, Audiobook
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 2
• Binding: Audio Cassette

Amazon.co.uk
"I am plagued by the nightmare that the party that started with Gladstone will end with Ashdown". Paddy Ashdown wrote this following his election as Leader of the future Liberal Democrats in 1988. Faced with party infighting, the conflict with David Own and the SDP, and the brink of financial insolvency, Ashdown's future seemed doomed. However, by the time he ends The Ashdown Diaries following the 1997 election, he writes "I am leading a party that is larger than Lloyd George's!" The Ashdown Diaries record this remarkable turnaround amid the turbulent final years of Mrs Thatcher and the uncertainty of the Major Government, and his fateful attempt to negotiate a coalition government with Tony Blair. Remarkably frank and written in an engagingly brusque (and often rather naive) style, Ashdown's diaries are a fascinating account of political life at one remove from governmental power. This makes many of his amusing and often brutal accounts of the great and the good highly entertaining. Political historians will be particularly interested in the majority of the book, dealing with Ashdown's surprisingly close links with Blair, and his claim to have come with an inch of joining the Cabinet in 1997. Lively, entertaining and often very witty, this is a frank and convincing portrait of Ashdown. --Jerry Brotton

Amazon.co.uk Review
Alec Guinness, David Attenborough, Quentin Crisp, John Simpson--many fascinating autobiographies have been read by their authors, but the ex-leader of the Lib Dems has produced a dog. Yet the facts of his story are interesting. He inherited a divided and bankrupt party which agreed--after marathon debates--to assume a new and forgettable name; he attempted to end the confusion about what they stood for, without success; he laid secret plans with Tony Blair to form a coalition designed to send the Tories to perdition; he repeatedly visited the Balkans to try to repair the damage left by meddling and fainthearted Western governments. His tale ends in 1997 with Blair pulling out of the secret compact, and with himself standing down as party leader. Part Two is promised soon.

The trouble with these diaries--and with his reading, which, alas, suits them perfectly--is that they are trudgingly, achingly dull. The blurb describes him as "charismatic", but of that quality these cassettes give no sign. Very occasionally he produces a nice turn of phrase--as when he speaks of the Tories "murdering Caesar" in ditching Mrs T--but for the most part his account has as much colour as a police report. He may have invaded Blair's inner circle, but we get no sense of what that must have been like, no whiff of personalities. He is either hopelessly unobservant, or else too mealy-mouthed to reveal what he sees; he seems devoid of the humanity which could illuminate the more tragic figures (John Major for one) with whom he consorts. OK, he's worked like a Trojan in the Balkans; OK, he can speak Chinese; OK, he only sleeps three hours a night--but, being no Thatcher, he clearly longs for his rightful eight. No mention, by the way, of his notorious affair. Several times he speaks of going to bed "dog-tired". Perhaps he should now curl up in his basket. --Betty Tadman

Customer Reviews

Interesting, But For the Wrong Reasons
It probably wasn't Paddy's intention that Blair, Mandelson and Cook should upstage him in his own memoirs, but that is the unfortunate end effect of these worthy, but humourless diaries.

The book falls into two distinct halves: the Westminster diaries and the Balkan diaries. While the latter are engagingly written, involving the reader by their pace and descriptive flair, the Westminster recollections are memorable only for their insights into the political skills of Tony Blair and his closest circle.

The reader gains the strong impression that Paddy is at his happiest when he is courting danger, dodging mortar fire, and interviewing villainous warlords. The Bosnian adventures are reminiscent of John Simpson's exploits in 'A Mad World, My Masters'. One senses a wistful nostalgia for the politician's SBS days.

Back on the Westminster scene, however, Paddy seems to metamorphose into a rather grumpy party leader who feels uncomfortable in his role, and who appears to dislike almost every aspect of the House of Commons, its procedures, and its inmates. It's clear that he's exhausted and frustrated, and can't wait to get out of the job.

The most striking feature of these diaries is their almost total lack of humour. Fans of Clark and Brandreth will not find much to entertain them. Also, readers who have only a passing interest in Proportional Representation may get bogged down in the interminable discourses on this subject.

The impression one is left with is that Paddy should have stayed in the Army or Diplomatic Service, in both of which he would undoubtedly have excelled. These are the diaries of an admirable and worthy man whose rather rigid and upright views made it difficult for him to fit into the uneasy compromises of modern political life.

As an insight into the mind of the embryo Prime Minister Blair, however, the diaries are quite fascinating. But somehow I don't think that was Paddy's intention.

Personal acccount of national events
The period of this book is an eventful and full one. We begin at the height of Thatcher's power and trace her fall. We then move on to the less combative - but just as interesting - premiership of Major. The diaries end as Tony Blair enters Downing Street and goes back on the carefully laid plans of Liberal-Labour co-ordination.

These political events are brought to life by Ashdown who was outside of the main two parties and so views events from a slightly detached position, unlike the Diaries of Alan Clark or the memoirs of cabinet ministers who were closer to these internal wranglings.

Ashdown's writing style is clear and effective. His meetings with Blair and Major give great insights into the private personalities of these prime ministers, whilst his trips to Buckingham Palace provide a balance of information and indiscretion. Journeys to Bosnia describe complicated wars with knowledge and passion.

Foreign policy, domestic policy and party politics are all explained here, and I would doubt that a more educational yet accessible and entertaining account of the period 1988-1997 and its players could be found elsewhere.

Ashdown's first diary has you in stitches throughout
Paddy Ashdown has shown that he is a character! Having met him personally his sense of wit and humour was excellent.
His book illustrates this brilliantly. The line on Margeret Thatcher, calling her a "dotty" was excellent.
What was best about the book though, was the element of surprise. Right from the in-fighting he had to contend with in his party, when he became leader, the "truth" about the Balkans, the secret deals with Blair and his surprising friendship with John Major (even though in public they seemed to unlike each other). It was a book that illustrates why Lib Dems are revived and play a part in this country. That reason is Paddy Ashdown's approach. He was tough, ruthless at times and even delivered the Conservativs a creditable opposition when Labour were in civil war.
A touching moment was the problems he had when the press got hold of his affair. It just shows how reputable politicians can be subjected to heartache from nonsense our media report on. You really felt for him. Like the autobiography I am reading at present, of John Major, his honesty shines through. A marvellous, book, a marvellous chap!

A MUST READ BOOK---- 5 STARS