Trio: Inside the Blair, Brown, Mandelson Project

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Description

Blair: charming, charismatic and a great communicator but undermined by an unshakeable conviction that he was right. Brown: in private, warm and witty; in public, an authoritative Chancellor but a wooden and curiously un-self-confident Prime Minister. Mandelson: for Blair, supreme courtier and chief adviser; for Brown, from arch-enemy to polished political life-saver. Among the most controversial figures in Britain's recent history, these three architects of New Labour together shaped Britain - and into the first decade of the 21st century. "Trio" charts their rise to power and their undoubted achievements, both individually and collectively, alongside their quarrels, failings and failures. It offers remarkably clear-sighted portraits of three powerful men who created a new politics in Britain, making Labour electable - and then back again - in 12 turbulent years.

Reviews

Praise for 'The Tortoise and the Hares', also by Giles Radice: 'Blending personalities and politics is a Giles Radice speciality' - Peter Hennessy; Praise for 'Friends and Rivals', also by Giles Radice: 'He has written a cracker. He so obviously admires his subjects that he does not feel the need to conceal their faults' - Daily Telegraph; 'The best political book of the year...a delight' - Independent on Sunday; 'a singularly vivid and strikingly accurate piece of modern political history' - Anthony Howard, Sunday Times; 'fascinating...[a] splendid triple portrait.' - Roy Hattersley, New Statesman; 'A gripping piece of narrative...an enthralling read' - Literary Review; 'Required reading' - Tam Dalyell, Scotsman; 'Far more than an eloquent and elegiac account of Labour's post-war half-century.' - Polly Toynbee, Guardian; 'a collector's item' - Peter Hennessy; 'compelling' - Financial Times; 'A fine and fair triple portrait of Labour's leading post-war politician-intellectuals' - John Lloyd, Times Literary Supplement; 'excellent' - The Times; 'Brilliant' - Prospect

Author Bio

The Rt Hon Lord Radice was Labour MP for Durham North and Chairman of the powerful Treasury Committee until he became a Life Peer in 2001. His previous books include Offshore: Britain and the European Idea (I.B.Tauris), Friends and Rivals: Crosland, Jenkins and Healey ('the best political book of the year' - Independent on Sunday), Diaries: 1980-2001 (shortlisted for Channel 4 Political Book of the Year in 2004) and The Tortoise and the Hares: Attlee, Bevin, Cripps, Dalton, Morrison. He brings to his works the skills of an historian and the insights of a politician.