A Journey：My Political Life

TonyBlairisapoliticianwhodefinesourtimes.HisemergenceasLabourPartyleaderin1994markedaseismicshiftinBritishpolitics.Withinafewshortyears,hehadtransformedhispartyandralliedthecountrybehindhim,becomingprimeministerin1997withthebiggestvictoryinLabour’shistory,andbringingtoanendeighteenyearsofConservativegovernment.HetookLabourtoahistoricthreetermsinofficeasBritain’sdominantpoliticalfigureofthelasttwodecades.AJourneyisTonyBlair’sfirsthandaccountofhisyearsinofficeandbeyond.Herehedescribesforthefirsttimehisroleinshapingourrecenthistory,fromtheaftermathofPrincessDiana’sdeathtothewaronterror.Herevealstheleadershipdecisionsthatwerenecessarytoreinventhisparty,therelationshipswithcolleaguesincludingGordonBrown,thegruelingnegotiationsforpeaceinNorthernIreland,theimplementationofthebiggestreformstopublicservicesinBritainsince1945,andhisrelationshipswithleadersontheworldstage—NelsonMandela,BillClinton,VladimirPutin,GeorgeW.Bush.HeanalyzesthebeliefinethicalinterventionthatledtohisdecisionstogotowarinKosovo,SierraLeone,Afghanistan,and,mostcontroversiallyofall,inIraq.AJourneyisabookaboutthenatureandusesofpoliticalpower.Infrank,unflinching,oftenwrydetail,TonyBlairchartstheupsanddownsofhiscareertoprovideinsightintothemanaswellasthepoliticianandstatesman.Heexploresthechallengesofleadership,andtheramificationsofstandingup,clearlyandforcefully,forwhatonebelievesin.Healsolooksahead,toemergingpowerrelationshipsandeconomies,addressingthevitalissuesandcomplexitiesofourglobalworld.FewBritishprimeministershaveshapedthenation’scourseasprofoundlyasTonyBlair,andhisachievementsandhislegacywillbedebatedforyearstocome.Here,uniquely,wehavehisownjourney,inhisownwords.