Boris Johnson: The Gambler

Product Information

However, having read his book on Corbyn last year, Johnson comes out slightly better from the Bower treatment - especially over his time as mayor of London. Mildly enjoyable reading, Bower’s book lacks the analysis or insight I’d hoped for from the Kitty Kelley of the political and business worlds, which is what comes of writing about someone you fancy. Eton and Oxford prepared him well for a frantic career straddling the dog-eat-dog worlds of journalism and politics.

The author is unafraid of diving into the secrets of Boris Johnson's family background, his infidelities, and his character traits with lots of things I didn't previously know. Critic after critic is dismissed as consumed by envy or pomposity — and yet where vision and empathy should be there is emptiness. This book written by Bower, was completed prematurely at the end of the Summer, before the 2nd wave hit, more dithering and indecision occurred and a failure to learn from the mistakes of the 1st time around has left the country in turmoil.The most egregious chapters relate to Brexit where Bower shows his strongly pro Brexit personal views. His previous book published in 2018, The Rebel Prince the story of Prince Charles's scandal ridden bid to rehabilitate himself after Princess Diana's death, was a number one best seller. Also as both a civil servant and a former GLA employee I wasn't too keen on the bits where he blames officials (who can't speak for themselves) rather than politicians for particular failings but I may just be being over-sensitive there. Johnson Snr is faithless and a creep: in the parched summer of 1976, he told the family’s two au pairs that the water shortage made washing clothes impossible and therefore they would have to follow the lead set by him and his wife and walk around naked, which they duly did. There is very little analysis in Bower’s account, and his own prejudices stand in the way of this becoming a masterful reference work.

But that was long ago and if anyone expected his latest book to be an unsparing, detached appraisal of our Prime Minister, they will be disappointed. There are inaccuracies in this account but much that is written elsewhere on Covid is subjective in any case. I struggled with parts of the book, was the author expressing his opinion or was he writing what he thought Boris was thinking…if the latter, he needs a different approach. The narrative then peters out in mid-2020, presumably when his publisher was demanding the final manuscript. Marina kicks him out over his affair with Petronella Wyatt, daughter of Thatcher pal Lord Wyatt, so he lodges with an old Balliol friend, whose wife happens to be the daughter of former cabinet secretary, Robin Butler.He imagines himself as a Churchill, his idol, and for sure he matches many of Churchills blunders and gaffes, Gallipoli, Norway, Tonypandy, the Gold Standard, the Bengal famine etc etc etc, yet when a 'real crisis' came Churchill stepped up and delivered the necessary leadership and inspiration to everyone. Indeed, the last 100 pages of the book provide a turgid day-by-day account of how the pandemic affected the UK, often with little reference to Johnson’s role or involvement.