Product Description

Despite having once been sacked from the shadow front bench, Boris Johnson is still widely seen as one of the stars of the Conservative Party. His distinctive appearance ('Like a haystack on a bicycle'), befuddled manner and ready wit have assured a high media profile and a large fanbase with the general public. In this, the first biography of Boris, Andrew Gimson investigates Boris' twin-faced dilemma - politics or entertainment - and asks how deep his political ambition runs. Boris has transcended his class, education and his various occupations (Conservative MP for Henley-on-Thames, Conservative spokesman for Higher Education, columnist on the Daily Telegraph, motoring correspondent for GQ, novelist, TV presenter) to become a paradoxical character - the old Etonian who fascinates teenagers as well as grandparents, the classical scholar who is also a TV quiz-show contestant. Despite being a comic actor of genius, he is not just an act and Andrew Gimson's biography covers all facets of this complex individual. There is his exotic Turkish ancestry, his place among five siblings, his competitive relationship with his father Stanley, the distinguished university career, his five years as a journalist in Brussels, his first failed venture into politics ('I fought Clwyd South - and Clwyd South fought back'), overseeing the Spectator during the David Blunkett affair and the Liverpool editorial fiasco which led to Boris' sacking from the shadow cabinet, his exile and return under David Cameron, his two marriages, four children and love affairs. Interviewing Boris' contemporaries, his family and his detractors, Andrew Gimson has created a fascinating and amusing portrait of this unique man of our times.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #138470 in Books
• Published on: 2007-06-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

Isabel Oakeshott, Sunday Times
'Like gambolling through a summer meadow in your underpants --
daft, a little risqué and great fun . . . Hilarious'

Jonathan Bouquet, Observer
'Beautifully written . . . The author admits to being a friend,
but pulls no punches'

From the Inside Flap
When Andrew Gimson rang Boris Johnson and asked to write his
life, Boris laughed for a long time before replying, 'Such is my colossal
vanity that I have no intention of trying to forbid you.'

In this age of unmemorable politicians, Boris stands out as a beacon of
hope. He cracks jokes. He makes gaffes. He loves women, cars and bicycling.
He wants to be Prime Minister, but can a man seen as a clown ever get to
the top?

This witty portrait, written with an affectionate yet critical eye, tells
the astonishing story of the Boris phenomenon. It traces his exotic Turkish
ancestry, his discovery of the art of performance from his father Stanley,
his prodigious education, his forgotten first marriage, his comical sacking
from his first job on The Times newspaper, his anarchic brilliance as the
Telegraph's man in Brussels, his editorship of the Spectator during the
David Blunkett affair and the Liverpool fiasco, his travails when the
tabloids exposed his affairs, his dismissal from the Tory front bench by
Michael Howard and return under David Cameron.

In BORIS, Andrew Gimson has created a wonderfully vivid, touching and funny
picture of the only Tory to be famous for himself rather than because of
the offices he held.