Best Books ... Peter Mandelson
Peter Mandelson, former Labour Minister and European Commissioner and one of the key architects of New Labour, chooses his five favourite political books. His memoir, The Third Man, has just been published.
The Making of the Prime Minister by Anthony Howard and Richard West 1965 (out of print)
"This book cemented my childhood infatuation with politics. It chronicled the rise of our neighbour, Harold Wilson, and his coming to power in 1964. He seemed to sweep my family into No 10 with him, and the events of the next six years dominated our mealtime discussions."
The Diaries of a Cabinet Minister by Richard Crossman, 1975 (out of print)
"Dick Crossman's diaries taught me a great deal about politics. Like Alastair Campbell's they tell you more about the author's mind that objective reality, but I am sure that's what some people say about The Third Man. At least I have given a lot of time to reflection since I started writing years ago and, I hope to the sort of candour not usually associated with a ministerial memoir."
Germinal by Emile Zola, 1885 (Penguin Classics £9.99)
"This book aroused intense feelings in me while I was trekking in Rwanda on my gap year. It tells of thwarted love and workers' struggles in 19th century France - both preoccupations of mine at the time. The book and my experiences in Africa cleared my head, and I went up to Oxford feeling more mature than many contemporaries. I shall return to Zola and see whether he can help clear the decks for the next stage."
The Prince by Niccoloa Machiavelli, 1513 (Penguin Classics £6.99)
"This is a book I've dipped into. My association with it is Robert Harris' fault. He did a profile of me for The Observer in 1987, headlined "Machiavelli comes to Walworth Road". Sometimes you can't help the truth sticking."
Lustrum by Robert Harris 2010 (Arrow £7.99)
"The second of my friend Robert's promised trilogy. It combines brilliant writing and wry humour with meticulous research into the characters of Cicero, Caesar and much besides. You can translate the narrative into contemporary political times if you wish. A masterpiece (dedicated to me)."
Best Books ... Claire Khaw
In an effort to display my wisdom, discernment and erudition, and to give those who are curious about me an insight into my reading preferences, I shall briefly mention the five books that I regard are major milestones in the development of my ideas. I will not include The Koran http://www.amazon.co.uk/Koran-Penguin-Classics/dp/0140449205 on the grounds that any law student and anyone who regards himself as educated, with an interest in morality, government and politics, would be expected to have read it and to be able to discuss it intelligently, in the brave new world that I have in mind.
The Diaries of Auberon Waugh: A Turbulent Decade 1976-1985
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Diaries-Auberon-Waugh-Turbulent-1976-1985/dp/0233978119
I did not at first think it was possible to say such things in print about the great and the good of British society, and there it was: delightful, scatological and depraved.
Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin Abbott
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Flatland-Romance-Dimensions-Dover-Thrift/dp/048627263X
This is a book that I lend or even give to men whom I mistakenly thought could have been of possible romantic interest, to test them. Without exception they have not, cannot and will not read it, though it is only short, with illustrations too, such is the egregious quality of British men these days. They never return it either. (It would never occur to me to test a woman in this way, for some reason. It would be enough that I found her attractive.)
Mein Kampf by Adolph Hitler
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/817224164X/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=103612307&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=1593640064&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=18C5GVQ1EVGV1BFZR6J6
While his racial theories are clearly false and mistaken, he is quite right that people under 30 should not consider entering politics unless they are exceptionally talented. One cannot but acknowledge his views on architecture and the power of the spoken word are but common sense. What remains undeniably true is the spinelessness of the middle classes, the intellectual and moral integrity of the working man (in the sense that he will have no truck with airy-fairy political theories that he only pretends to understand once he sees they are not practicable), the incorrigible stupidity of the masses and the need a nation has for religion because most people are neither philosophers nor saints. A must-read for anyone with a questioning mind with an interest in politics and propaganda, not easily swayed by anti-Semitism or attracted to incoherent racial theories.
The Ordeal of Gilbert Pinfold by Evelyn Waugh
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ordeal-Gilbert-Pinfold-Conversation-Classics/dp/0141184507
I am afraid I am such a philistine that this was the only Waugh novel that I ever really enjoyed because it had a character that I could recognise as authentic, not a mere cardboard character conjured up for the reader's entertainment. Brideshead Revisited left me completely cold with his irritating aristocratic characters and their funny little ways. His journalism complaining about the modern world and the increasing intrusiveness of the urban proletariat made far more sense. Pinfold is a vivid description of the method of one's madness.
Mandelson: The Biography by Donald McIntyre
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mandelson-Making-Labour-Donald-Macintyre/dp/0006530621
A fascinating well-documented biography that made me fall in love with the man even as I knew my love would never be requited, not being a member of the stronger sex. It would appear that McIntyre's prose is far superior to that of the subject himself. But love understands, and forgives all.
Peter Mandelson, former Labour Minister and European Commissioner and one of the key architects of New Labour, chooses his five favourite political books. His memoir, The Third Man, has just been published.
The Making of the Prime Minister by Anthony Howard and Richard West 1965 (out of print)
"This book cemented my childhood infatuation with politics. It chronicled the rise of our neighbour, Harold Wilson, and his coming to power in 1964. He seemed to sweep my family into No 10 with him, and the events of the next six years dominated our mealtime discussions."
The Diaries of a Cabinet Minister by Richard Crossman, 1975 (out of print)
"Dick Crossman's diaries taught me a great deal about politics. Like Alastair Campbell's they tell you more about the author's mind that objective reality, but I am sure that's what some people say about The Third Man. At least I have given a lot of time to reflection since I started writing years ago and, I hope to the sort of candour not usually associated with a ministerial memoir."
Germinal by Emile Zola, 1885 (Penguin Classics £9.99)
"This book aroused intense feelings in me while I was trekking in Rwanda on my gap year. It tells of thwarted love and workers' struggles in 19th century France - both preoccupations of mine at the time. The book and my experiences in Africa cleared my head, and I went up to Oxford feeling more mature than many contemporaries. I shall return to Zola and see whether he can help clear the decks for the next stage."
The Prince by Niccoloa Machiavelli, 1513 (Penguin Classics £6.99)
"This is a book I've dipped into. My association with it is Robert Harris' fault. He did a profile of me for The Observer in 1987, headlined "Machiavelli comes to Walworth Road". Sometimes you can't help the truth sticking."
Lustrum by Robert Harris 2010 (Arrow £7.99)
"The second of my friend Robert's promised trilogy. It combines brilliant writing and wry humour with meticulous research into the characters of Cicero, Caesar and much besides. You can translate the narrative into contemporary political times if you wish. A masterpiece (dedicated to me)."
Best Books ... Claire Khaw
In an effort to display my wisdom, discernment and erudition, and to give those who are curious about me an insight into my reading preferences, I shall briefly mention the five books that I regard are major milestones in the development of my ideas. I will not include The Koran http://www.amazon.co.uk/Koran-Penguin-Classics/dp/0140449205 on the grounds that any law student and anyone who regards himself as educated, with an interest in morality, government and politics, would be expected to have read it and to be able to discuss it intelligently, in the brave new world that I have in mind.
The Diaries of Auberon Waugh: A Turbulent Decade 1976-1985
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Diaries-Auberon-Waugh-Turbulent-1976-1985/dp/0233978119
I did not at first think it was possible to say such things in print about the great and the good of British society, and there it was: delightful, scatological and depraved.
Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin Abbott
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Flatland-Romance-Dimensions-Dover-Thrift/dp/048627263X
This is a book that I lend or even give to men whom I mistakenly thought could have been of possible romantic interest, to test them. Without exception they have not, cannot and will not read it, though it is only short, with illustrations too, such is the egregious quality of British men these days. They never return it either. (It would never occur to me to test a woman in this way, for some reason. It would be enough that I found her attractive.)
Mein Kampf by Adolph Hitler
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/817224164X/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=103612307&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=1593640064&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=18C5GVQ1EVGV1BFZR6J6
While his racial theories are clearly false and mistaken, he is quite right that people under 30 should not consider entering politics unless they are exceptionally talented. One cannot but acknowledge his views on architecture and the power of the spoken word are but common sense. What remains undeniably true is the spinelessness of the middle classes, the intellectual and moral integrity of the working man (in the sense that he will have no truck with airy-fairy political theories that he only pretends to understand once he sees they are not practicable), the incorrigible stupidity of the masses and the need a nation has for religion because most people are neither philosophers nor saints. A must-read for anyone with a questioning mind with an interest in politics and propaganda, not easily swayed by anti-Semitism or attracted to incoherent racial theories.
The Ordeal of Gilbert Pinfold by Evelyn Waugh
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ordeal-Gilbert-Pinfold-Conversation-Classics/dp/0141184507
I am afraid I am such a philistine that this was the only Waugh novel that I ever really enjoyed because it had a character that I could recognise as authentic, not a mere cardboard character conjured up for the reader's entertainment. Brideshead Revisited left me completely cold with his irritating aristocratic characters and their funny little ways. His journalism complaining about the modern world and the increasing intrusiveness of the urban proletariat made far more sense. Pinfold is a vivid description of the method of one's madness.
Mandelson: The Biography by Donald McIntyre
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mandelson-Making-Labour-Donald-Macintyre/dp/0006530621
A fascinating well-documented biography that made me fall in love with the man even as I knew my love would never be requited, not being a member of the stronger sex. It would appear that McIntyre's prose is far superior to that of the subject himself. But love understands, and forgives all.
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