Politicos: Politico's Bookshop Bulletin: Blair Unbound

1. New: Blair Unbound by Anthony Seldon
2 The Pick of Recent Paperbacks
3. New: 'An Utterly Impartial History of Britain: (or 2000 Years of Upper Class Idiots In Charge)'
4. Bargains and Special Offers
5. New: 'The Optimist's Handbook'

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Note from the Editor
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The Blair bibliography increases by the week. The Master of Wellington College, Dr Anthony Seldon, has been particularly busy. It was only a week ago that we announced 'Blair's Britain: 1997 - 2007' which Dr Seldon edited, and now comes Blair Unbound the follow up to his earlier political biography, Blair, which was published in 2005. Blair Unbound is already creating waves (Ed Balls on The World at One used the words "fictional", has "no foundation", is "rubbish" and full of "ridiculous" allegations - so it looks like a "must-read").

A rich selection of recently published paperbacks includes Geoff Mulgan's Good and Bad Power, Margaret MacMillan's Seize the Hour: When Nixon Met Mao, and A History of the English Speaking Peoples Since 1900 by Andrew Roberts.

Impartiality seems hardly likely in John O'Farrell's An Utterly Impartial History of Britain: (or 2000 Years of Upper Class Idiots In Charge) a book his publishers describe "as entertaining as a witch burning, and a lot more laughs".

Take advantage of this week's list of very special bargains while stocks last. Included are Alastair Cambell's The Blair Years and David Strahan's The Last Oil Shock both at 45% off, and three fascinating golden oldies (rediscovered at the back of a broom cupboard) at 75% discount.

Finally an antidote to miserable headlines, miserable health, miserable weather - Nick Inman's intelligent and thought-provoking The Optimist's Handbook: Facts, Figures and Arguments to Silence Cynics, Doom-mongers and Defeatists.

Best wishes,

editor@politicos.co.uk

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1. New: Blair Unbound by Anthony Seldon
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The first volume of Anthony Seldon's riveting and definitive life of Tony Blair was published to great acclaim in 2004. Now, as the Labour Party and the country get used to the idea of a new leader and a new Prime Minister, Seldon delivers the most complete, authoritative and compelling account yet of the Blair premiership. Picking up the story in dramatic fashion on 11 September 2001, Seldon recaps very briefly Blair's trajectory to what may now be regarded as the high-point of his leadership, and then brings us right up to date as Blair hands over the reins to his arch-rival, Gordon Brown.

Based on hundreds of original interviews with key insiders, many of whose views have hitherto been kept private, Blair Unbound serves both as a fascinating second volume of this masterclass in political biography and a highly revealing and compelling book in its own right.

Buy Blair Unbound here and save 25%

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2 The Pick of Recent Paperbacks
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Good and Bad Power: The Ideals and Betrayals of Government
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Geoff Mulgan's entertaining analysis of the moral imperatives that both drive and elude democracies.

A History of the English Speaking Peoples Since 1900 by Andrew Roberts
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"Magnificently provoking ... a worthy successor to Churchill's history of the same subject ... this is a work of astonishing range and depth, combining as it does a polemical flair with sure-footed scholarship" - Hywel Williams, New Statesman.

Seize the Hour: When Nixon Met Mao by Margaret MacMillan
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"She writes vividly and in detail ! This is diplomatic history at its most lively and accessible" - Sunday Telegraph.

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3. New: An Utterly Impartial History of Britain: (or 2000 Years of Upper Class Idiots In Charge)
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John O'Farrell's latest is a book about "then" that is also incisive and illuminating about "now" - a hilarious, informative and cantankerous journey through Britain's fascinating and bizarre history. Read how Anglo-Saxon liberals struggled to be positive about immigration; 'Look I think we have to try and respect the religious customs of our new Viking friends - oi, he's nicked my bloody ox!'. Discover how England's peculiar class system was established by some snobby French nobles whose posh descendants still have wine cellars and second homes in the Dordogne today. And explore the complex socio-economic reasons why Britain's kings were the first in Europe to be brought to heel; (because the Stuarts were such a useless bunch of untalented, incompetent, arrogant, upper-class thickoes that Parliament didn't have much choice).

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4. Bargains and Special Offers
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We have limited stocks of the following titles (some very recent, some rather old) available at special prices:

The Blair Years: Extracts from the Alastair Campbell's Diaries
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The most compelling and revealing account of contemporary politics you will ever read. A national bestseller. Limited stocks available at 45% discount.

The Last Oil Shock: A Survival Guide to the Imminent Extinction of Petroleum Man
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David Strahan's disturbing book predicts a crisis far more dangerous than international terrorism, and just as urgent as climate change. Buy here in paperback and save 45%.

Chairman Blair's Little Red Book by Steve Bell and Brian Homer
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A historical document now, the Little Red Book (which is blue) reads like a prophecy - most of which came true. Buy now in (very small) paperback and save 75%

Inspired and Outspoken: The Collected Speeches of Ann Widdecombe
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Another history book. Read her maiden speech, her opposition to the Channel Tunnel, and her stance regarding the ordination of women. Buy now in paperback and save 75%

Major, Major by Terry Major Ball
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These "Memories of an Older Brother" make for curious reading nowadays. Find out about the garden gnomes and more in this original hardback and save 75%

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5. New: The Optimist's Handbook
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Cheer up! Nick Inman has even included a section on political optimism in his compendious 'The Optimist's Handbook'.

This charming yet intelligent volume ranges (alphabetically) from 'Altruism' and 'Anaesthetics' to 'World Government' and' World (end of)'; via 'Economics', 'Nelson Mandela' and 'Robinson Crusoe'. It is not a slushy collection of inspiring thoughts, but a sure-fire, thinking person's antidote to the misery and general gloom of a world obsessed by economic woe and the price of petrol.

It also the perfect gift.

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Endquote
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"I'm an optimist, but an optimist who carries a raincoat."

- Harold Wilson

Taken from Nick Inman's 'The Optimist's Handbook' (see above)