Riveting and candid memoir of life behind the scenes as US Ambassador and Prime Minister’s Press Secretary – a Sunday Times bestseller
Christopher Meyer was Ambassador to the United States from 1997 to 2003, during which time he was an eyewitness to and participant in the events following 9/11 and the preparations for the Iraq war. Never before has there been such a riveting and candid memoir of life behind the diplomatic scenes. Meyer’s is an honest account of what he saw, what he heard and how he felt.
The cast list of characters who feature here includes Margaret Thatcher, Bob Hope, the Clintons, Steven Spielberg, Condoleeza Rice, Alastair Campbell and Jack Straw. The book reveals close encounters with Tony Blair, Robin Cook and Peter Mandelson; KGB honey traps in Russia; a major row with Bill Clinton; inside stories on Number 10 and the Foreign Office; and of course life behind the scenes with Blair and George W. Bush. It was clear that the Prime Minister’s office and not the Foreign Office would control relations with Washington, and Meyer shows in close up how he helped facilitate the ‘special relationship’.
Christopher Meyer was Ambassador to the United States from 1997 to 2003, during which time he was an eyewitness to and participant in the events following 9/11 and the preparations for the Iraq war. Never before has there been such a riveting and candid memoir of life behind the diplomatic scenes. Meyer’s is an honest account of what he saw, what he heard and how he felt.
The cast list of characters who feature here includes Margaret Thatcher, Bob Hope, the Clintons, Steven Spielberg, Condoleeza Rice, Alastair Campbell and Jack Straw. The book reveals close encounters with Tony Blair, Robin Cook and Peter Mandelson; KGB honey traps in Russia; a major row with Bill Clinton; inside stories on Number 10 and the Foreign Office; and of course life behind the scenes with Blair and George W. Bush. It was clear that the Prime Minister’s office and not the Foreign Office would control relations with Washington, and Meyer shows in close up how he helped facilitate the ‘special relationship’.
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Reviews
He provides some captivating insights into modern diplomacy and American life
The book is of great value to anyone interested in diplomacy and foreign policy
A masterpiece of elegance which places the steletto between New Labour's shoulder blades with panache
The delicious portraiture, razor-sharp character assessments and the sharing of undiplomatic discretions, are all beautifully, and often comically, presented
For all his colourful and funny stories, the enduring value of his picture of the Blain years is the way Meyer shows this Government steadily ripping up the rules
It is delightfully undiplomatic - brimming with barbed comments, colourful anecdotes and amusing assessments of No 10's top talent
He tells a juicy tale
The insights into buffoons who run amok in our name makes this a rude, iconoclastic delight
An entertaining and informative read
'...absorbing account by Meyer of his tenure as ambassador to Washington during distinctly interesting times. His descriptions of the building of new Labour's relationship with the US administration, and the battles between the foreign office and No 10 are fascinating'.
the insights into buffoons who run amok in our name makes this a rude, iconoclastic delight.
A marvellously entertaining and readable book
Absorbing account by Meyer of his tenure as ambassador to Washington during distinctly interesting times. His descriptions of the building of new Labour's relationship with the US administration, and the battles between the foreign office and No 10 are fascinating
it is delightfully undiplomatic - brimming with barbed comments, colourful anecdotes and amusing assesments of No 10's top talent.
The chapters on 9/11 and on the Iraq War are totally absorbing and often quite moving