Customer Reviews
Best Prime Minister we never had? - By: JTP Larkin, 24 Nov 2008 
These installments of Tony Benn's diaries give the reader a fascinating insight into the true death of a socialist Labour partyin this country, & it's re-birth as a Christian Democratic ( Liberal)
Labour party, & Mr Benn leaves usin no doubt as to what we are missing! His portrayal of Blair being an elected King, instead of the head of a colective, is particularily interesting, as is the cult of personality surrounding him ( Blair). His critique of capitalism seems especially prescientin the present climate.
The minutiae of his day to day life is absolutely fascinating, & he gives equal billing to the lowliest train conductor to the highest heads of state. His writings on the illnesses, & subsequent deaths, of his mother & his wife are exquisitely written, & I defy anyone not to be moved by their descriptions. A magnificent book by a magnificent man of the people.
Inconsistent, but ultimately fascinating history of the man and his politics. - By: Gerard McGrath, 18 Oct 2006 
A rather long, & a little self-indulgent, history of a long careerin politics. Tony is a passionate historian as well as politician & it is easy to see that he is trying to help future historians by giving the meat on the bones of some of the events of the twentieth century. It was surprising to discover the reasons for some decisions & actions NOT being taken as opposed to the edited stories that get reportedin the general media. My respect for the author has grown.
A good read for the bedside table - easy to flick through to find interesting entries if the going gets a little stodgy.
Fantastic - By: Justin Murphy, 07 Nov 2005 I am not quite so left wing as Tony Benn, but that doesn't matter at all with these diaries. To hear him speak is to love him. Benn gives us his mischievous best. He loves politics & loves life, & it is really refreshing to spend timein his company.
I get the impression that 50% of what he does & says stems from genuinely held belief, & 50% from a simple desire to cause trouble.
The Benn Diary - By: Edward Proffitt, 08 Oct 2004 I write this review from the standpoint as a true blue Tory!! Notwithstanding that admission & if anyone is still reading after it, i advise anyone who is at all interestedin politics to read this. It gives a fascinating insight int politcs, political relationships & what actually goes onin Westminster & political parties. It is also funny & thought provoking & moving. In short it is brilliant. If you read the Clark diaries & were put off by political self obsession then read this, it may even restore your faithin politicians!!
Swan song of a great conviction politician - By: Adam Brooks, 30 Sep 2004 In these days of Politics lite, when all debate & political ideas are being reduced to third way mush, here is a voice to heed.
Starting with John Major's last election victory & the death throes of Kinnock's leadership, Tony Benn begins to feel deep disillusionment on how the role of Parliament & political life are developing. But worse is to come. John Smith's brief leadership gives way to the nascent Blair leadership, & the beginning of the end of conviction politics....
There's a cast of thousands here, & the detail & bustle of daily political life protrayed is one of the joys of the book. From the local world of Benn's Chesterfield constituency to the machinations of the National Executive & the drama of the House, it's all here.
Tony Benn may not be as fully engagedin events as he may once have been, as he is increasingly sidelined by his own party, & his own inclinations & personal life draw him further away, & the diaries may not therefore be as politically satisfying as previously volumes.
But the human drama of the account of the illness & death of his beloved wife Caroline is profoundly moving. The dignity of his writing, the avoidance of mawkishness, the raw emotion behind the restraint of language are tremendously powerful.
He is full of love & admiration for his family & friends too, which help to carry him through the depression of the end of his parliamentary career & his bereavement. But there's another consolation. As he is repeatsin these pages, he's "leaving parliament to concentrate on politics......"
The mendaciousness of the New Labour Machine is here well brought home, with it's cult of the personality of the leader, & it's threats & abuse to MP's who do not show themselves as suitably careeristin their actions.
Benn is stunned as he sees the machinery of the Party he's given his life to impatiently dismantled by the grinning Blair & his 'New' party.
An amazing, enriching read. 'Marvellous,' as Tony Benn would say
