Tony Blair really poured out his guts in this book about his political life. There were interesting stories about Lady Diana, the facing down of terrorists after 911, the Kosvo war, the Iraq war. There were more mundane descriptions of the political life and his “New Labor” initiatives. He sounded very genuine and enthusiastic about

He didn’t have a lot of nice things to say about Gordon Brown, the Chancellor, who succeeded him or forced him out. I thought he wined too much about Gordon. Tony should’ve got rid of him despite of all, in my opinion. Surprisingly, he had a lot of nice things (like integrity) to say about George Bush.

Many people including myself thought that Tony Blair was an US puppet, claiming to be shoulder-to-shoulder with US. But I sensed that he really believed that the it’s in UK’s best interest to be aligned with the US interest.

I got to learn a lot about Britain’s political systems, the parties (Tory vs. Labor), the precarious relationship between the prime minister and the Royal family. I thought the role of the Chancellor is a bit strange and counter-productive. In addition, the PMQ (Prime Minister Questions) with the House of Commons is interesting; it’s like a weekly session of putting the prime minister’s butt against fire.

Tony Blair held the office for a good 10 years – an awful long time in today’s democracy system. I think at the end people just got sick of having him in power, not because his policies were wrong and detrimental to the Brits.

This is an interesting book for someone who wants to learn about being a good leader, the politics, and Britain’s political system – all for the price of one book. I listened to the audiobook recorded by Tony Blair himself – very personal and believable.