Blair Unbound by Anthony Seldon
This is the second and concluding volume of the authors’ comprehensive biography of Tony Blair, the longest serving prime minister of the Labour Party, who led his party to three consecutive general-election victories. The first volume, published in 2004, examined his youth, early political career, and his first term in office. This volume begins with the events of September 11, 2001, and chronicles his ministry to its conclusion in 2007. As the title suggests, the authors view Blair during this period as a liberated politician, free from the earlier constraints imposed by the need to restructure and redefine his party. They offer a heavily researched account filled with fascinating details based on unpublished documents and insider accounts. For example, their recounting of Blair’s reactions to the 9/11 attacks has a you-are-there feel. There are wonderful analyses of Blair’s conflicts with Gordon Brown, his relationship with President Bush, and his efforts to forge policies on issues as diverse as the Iraq War, Northern Ireland, and European integration. This is an outstanding work that strives successfully to explain the man and his administration. –Jay Freeman
Tony Blair: Prime Minister by John Rentoul
John Rentoul’s biography of Tony Blair is a must read for those who want to understand him. The book is scholarly enough to use as a text in comparative politics. It also gives enough character development to understand who Blair is, how he was developed as a man and what Britain’s youngest Prime Minister in the 20th century is like. The text certainly gives a clear view of “The Third Way” philosophy of Blair’s tenure which eschews unfettered capitalism and old labor socialism. Rentoul also illuminates Blair’s Christian moral beliefs without ignoring the character of a young rock musician. It is the best biography yet of Britain’s most dynamic leader. — Matthew Escover
New Britain: My Vision Of A Young Country by Tony Blair
New Britain presents Tony Blair on all the major debates of British public life: from nationalized health care to crime prevention, from the welfare state to monetary policy, from religion to family values, from individualism to isolationism, from taxation to trade unions, from NATO to Northern Ireland, from community rebirth to economic growth. After seventeen years of Conservative Party rule under Margaret Thatcher and John Major, a change in Great Britain’s leadership appears imminent. In Blair’s Stakeholder Nation, government works in partnership with private and voluntary sectors to harness the pawer of the market to serve the public interest. In New Britain, we read in Blair’s own articulate words how to improve the standard of living of all Britain’s families; how to base a new social order on merit, commitment, and inclusion; how to decentralize British institutions of political power; and how to expand Britain’s leadership in foreign affairs.
Blair’s Britain, 1997-2007 by Anthony Seldon
Tony Blair has dominated British political life for more than a decade. Like Margaret Thatcher before him, he has changed the terms of political debate and provoked as much condemnation as admiration. At the end of his era in power, this book presents a wide-ranging overview of the achievements and failures of the Blair governments. Bringing together Britain’s most eminent academics and commentators on British politics and society, it examines the effect of the Prime Minister and his administration on the machinery of government, economic and social policy and foreign relations. Combining serious scholarship with clarity and accessibility, this book represents the authoritative verdict on the impact of the Blair years on British politics and society.
Tony Blair: The Making of a World Leader by Philip Stephens
As author Philip Stephens notes, many Americans who saw British prime minister Tony Blair all buddy-buddy with his close friend and philosophical soulmate Bill Clinton were surprised to see Blair in apparently an equally close relationship with George W. Bush just a few months later. Other Americans may simply have wondered who this man was who became Bush’s closest ally in the run-up to war in Iraq and his guest during an address to Congress.
Either way, this biography has many of the answers those Americans may be looking for. While it is not the definitive biography of Anthony Charles Lynton Blair — and it’s obviously too early to measure his impact on UK politics, since he’s still in office — this title is nevertheless a good introduction to this major player on the world stage.
Stephens, a writer for the Financial Times newspaper, has had a great deal of access to Blair over the years, including personal interviews specifically for this book. It’s not entirely surprising, therefore, that Stephens takes a generally positive tone with his subject. While he does not downplay Blair’s weaknesses, including a number of unattractive personality traits, neither is he heavily critical of the man. He also tends to be light in his coverage of others’ criticisms of Blair, except insofar as they have shaped the man himself or had a lasting impact on his political outlook or success in office.
No question that this book is more about personality than politics … but I hasten to add that I think Stephens has done a fine job in showing how Blair’s political words and deeds proceed consistently and logically from his personality and his underlying beliefs. Unlike Clinton, Blair does seem to have a solid set of core principles that transcend mere political expedience. Stephens argues that this in part explains Blair’s ability to get along with President Bush on matters of global policy. At the same time, Blair is also a consummate and accomplished politician, who recognizes (again, as Stephens argues) that the British prime minister ultimately has little alternative *except* to do all he can to keep the UK’s relationship with the US on solid footing, regardless of who is in the White House.
In short, this title may seem a bit too glossy and superficial to Americans who already have some degree of familiarity with British politics and Tony Blair himself. However, for those who don’t, or who seek a quick refresher course, Stephens’ book has a lot to argue for it. I consider myself relatively conversant with the UK’s politics and government, but still learned a lot from reading this. I think other readers may find themselves reaching the same conclusion. — Andrew S. Rogers
