30 Days: A Month at the Heart of Blair's War

Those who have been reading the literature on the war such as The Guardian's recent The War We Could Not Stop and Dilip Hiro's excellent Iraq: A View From the Inside will find this an excellent complementary read. Those who like voyeuristic looks at powerful people, the political process through times of crisis or the Labour Party today should be delighted with it. --Larry Brown

Reader Reviews:

disappointing (0/0 people found this helpful)

This book should/could have been a masterpiece. Mr Stothard is undoubtably a top class writer but one is left wondering exactly how much access he actually had to the inner workings of government. Too much time is spent on trivia and we are left with only snippets of conversation and a vague idea of whats going on. There are some interesting moments but overall the pace is slow and uneventfull

Access does not necessarily equal insight. (2/4 people found this helpful)

For those seeking to understand Blair, to analyse his foreign policy the book by Peter Stothard is a good place to begin, but one which should not be over-rated.

Stothard's book is split into the 30 days he spent with Blair, each daily entry describing events stretching from 10 March (ITV interview with anti-war women) through to April 9th (tearing down of Saddam's statue).

The book sets out familiar themes. On relations with the US it does not fall into the lazy cliché ridden trap of painting Blair as Bush's poodle. It highlights how Blair's determination to deal with Iraq and WMD preceded Bush's election and became very much his own area of expertise. It further opens to some extent the question of how much Blair achieved with the US in playing what Peter Riddell has described as the 'hug them close' approach. The book paints a picture of a PM slowly coming to realise that relations with Bush were not having the effect he thought they were. Blair took on too much diplomacy for one individual to manage. In turn the book catalogues the growing strains in relations with France, Germany and the EU and the damage this has inflicted on Blair's European credentials. Blair is cast in the mould of the typical British PM whose primary concern is with Washington. The most notable insight to British foreign policy making is the lack of involvement by the Foreign Office. Aside from a brief note on p126, Stothard discusses the FCO fewer times than he mentions three year old Leo Blair and his train set. The FCO is viewed from Downing St as bureaucratic and obsessed with detail. The cabinet is also painted as almost sidelined. As Stothard notes (p34), 'A messenger sits guard to ensure that none of the team outside [the Cabinet room], the people who really run this heart of government, makes too much noise.'

Stothard's work tends more towards a diary than a contemplated reflection of the bigger picture at play. At several points the author appears to drift aimlessly through the rooms and bunkers of Downing St and in turn misses key questions. In itself this allows the reader to draw their own ideas about how Downing St works and the way it's set up. But on the whole it tends to reveal that access does not necessarily equal insight. I would advise reading John Kampfner's book 'Blair's wars' which is a far better and more detailed analysis of Blair and his approach to foreign policy.

It is however worth remembering that this book (and Kampfner's) have already been superseded, most notably by events surrounding the Hutton enquiry.

It's the winning, not the taking part, that's important. (3/7 people found this helpful)

This isn't a book of shocking revelations from the heart of government. Indeed, the reader is left to wonder just how much varied access the author really did have to Tony Blair's every waking hour for 30 days - I sometimes thought that the author was just popping into Number 10 now and again.

However it is a record that shows just how shallow the New Labour government activity from No 10 Downing Street really is. The narrative takes us through a never ending cycle of events (public speeches / visits to parliament / telephone calls with world leader) which appear to be all about how No.10 saves its face and wins an argument rather than striving for some ideological goal or building policy. We get the impression that every day for the British Prime Minister is a series of presentational games, all of which must be won. And this during a period where Britain went into battle with Iraq. What about governing the country ? That's left to everyone else to worry about.

The more you reflect on this book, the more you'll find its contents disturbing.

Light but Enjoyable (9/9 people found this helpful)

This is a bright, breezy yet quite fascinating view of the inner workings of Number 10 Downing Streetduring the days leading up to and including the Second Gulf War.

Firstly what this book is not: It is not filled with deep analysis of Blair's policies. There is no weighing of the moral issues behind fighting Saddam Hussein. There aren't many shocking revelations of skeletons in the Downing Street cupboards, no kiss and tell stories here.

So what do you get here? Basically what it says: a behind the scenes look at the workings of the Blair team by a powerful journalist given access for thirty days. There are not many details spared in describing Number 10, from carpet colours to whose office is where. It is interesting to see what roles the leading members of the team play, who can get away with jibes and who tries hard to please.

We also get to see just how much like any other office in the country this is. We have Alistair Campbell's "What do Saddam and Blackburn Rovers have in common" jokes. We see the most powerful people in the country passing around a Wagon Wheel. There is little Leo's train set which seems to run all over the house.

Then we have the relations with other leaders. One of the books strengths is showing how Blair works with Bush and how the American team operates on a much grander scale than the British. There is Chiraq, who is disliked and respected at the same time.

Aside from the war we get a peek at what Blair has to deal with for most of the year: stikes, taxes, school teachers, the Scottish Labour Party.

Overall you will not take much away from this quick read other than a glimpse of what life is really like inside the Blair "den", which alone is worth the admission fee.

Excellent (3/5 people found this helpful)

This book is an excellent insight into the working of Number Ten Downing Street during the most testing and tense time of the Prime Minister's political career. The way that the book has been written as a daily account makes it an even better read, as opposed to a constant commentary. The images in the book are very good and reflect the amount of time the author spent with Tony Blair, and also show he had access to everywhere.

30 Days: A Month at the Heart of Blair's War

Peter Stothard

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