Lend Me Your Ears |
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Boris Johnson
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Pages: 560 (Paperback)
ISBN: 0007173342
Pub: HarperPerennial
Pub date: 2004-06-07
Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 18334
Reader Reviews:
Not what I expected (23/24 people found this helpful)
Johnson's last book, "Friends Voters Countrymen", was a joy to behold. "Lend Me Your Ears", far from being the sequel the title suggests, is more "Boris writing about politics" than "Boris writing about his own involvement in politics".
I don't mean this as a criticism, but more a warning to those who might buy this book expecting more light-hearted recollections of Johnson's (successful) attempts to become an MP, combined with his role as editor of The Spectator. Instead, expect Johnson's view on such subjects as the inner workings of the EU. Although there is a sprinkling of humour, it's much less frequent than in "Friends Voters Countrymen".
Although it's not really my cup of tea, I don't want to actually criticise the book at all. If you're a Boris fan only in the sense of enjoying his appearances on Have I Got News For You, my advice would be to go for the earlier book.
A welcome contribution to a debate we should be having (30/34 people found this helpful)
I like Boris Johnson. He's one of those seemingly rare things - a likeable Tory. In this highly readable collection of columns, he comes across as amiable, personable, and articulate.
This last is important. Although I am myself extremely unlikely to vote Tory any time soon, it is vital for our democracy that opposing views get a hearing - and what Johnson presents here is a coherent statement of a logical, internally consistent, sometimes compelling conservative philosophy. I had no idea the Conservative Party had such a thing!
Surely it should not fall to a journalist backbencher to explain what his party is about. That it has done so reflects very badly on the shambolic state of the supposed official opposition. Johnson's reporting style is engaging, his analysis balanced and insightful, his arguments lucid and, while I take issue with him on many things, particularly foreign policy, I have found much here to admire and respect. If only his colleagues could get their act together, we might have a proper debate.
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Categories
Amazon.co.uk places this book into the following categories:
Books -> Subjects -> History -> General
Books -> Subjects -> History -> Britain & Ireland -> Post-war Period, 1946-Present
Books -> Subjects -> History -> Britain & Ireland -> General AAS
Books -> Subjects -> History -> General AAS
Books -> Refinements -> Language (feature_browse-bin) -> English
Books -> Refinements -> Format (binding_browse-bin) -> Paperback
Books -> Refinements -> Font Size (format_browse-bin) -> Regular Size