Johnson at 10

***THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER***



*A FINANCIAL TIMES, TELEGRAPH, NEW STATESMAN AND TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR*



'Excellent... first class... both fair and damning.' Daniel Finkelstein, The Times



'Authoritative, gripping and often jaw-dropping' Andrew Rawnsley, Observer



'Invaluable' New Statesman





'Explosive' Isabel Hardman, The i





After his dramatic rise to power in the summer of 2019 amid the Brexit deadlock, Boris Johnson presided over the most turbulent period of British history in living memory. Beginning with the controversial prorogation of Parliament in August and the historic landslide election victory later that year, Johnson was barely through the door of No. 10 when Britain was engulfed by a series of crises that will define its place in the world for decades to come. From the agonising upheaval of Brexit and the devastating Covid-19 pandemic to the nerve-shredding crisis in Afghanistan, the outbreak of war in Ukraine and the Partygate scandal, Johnson's government ultimately unravelled after just three years.





This gripping behind-the-scenes work of contemporary history maps Johnson's time in power from start to finish and sheds new light on the most divisive Prime Minister to have led the United Kingdom since Thatcher. Based on more than 200 interviews with key aides, allies and insiders, Johnson at 10 gives the first full account of Johnson's premiership, the shockwaves of which are still felt today.



***A WATERSTONES BEST POLITICS BOOK OF 2023***





Number 2 Sunday Times bestseller, 14 May 2023



Sir Anthony Seldon is an educator, historian, writer and commentator. A former headmaster and vice-chancellor, he's a director of the Royal Shakespeare Company and Chair of the National Archives Trust. He is author or editor of over forty books on contemporary history, politics and education, including The Impossible Office?, May at 10 and The Path of Peace.



Raymond Newell is a contemporary historian and researcher, holding Masters degrees in Political Economy and Data Science from King's College London and the University of Oxford. Newell has previously collaborated with Anthony Seldon as co-author on May at 10, and currently works in Public Affairs and Communications at Hanbury Strategy.



An authoritative, gripping and often jaw-dropping account of the bedlam behind the black door of Number 10



Excellent.... Even those already pretty sceptical about Johnson will find this book eye opening. For their first-class account, Seldon and Newell have interviewed advisers and officials and gained a very good insight into what was going on behind the door of No 10



The authoritative account of what [Johnson] did with his time in power... explosive



Perhaps this overhyped book is the only memoir of which Johnson is capable. He is not going to change. Anyone wanting more about his time at the top will gain greater insight from a few pages of Anthony Seldon and Raymond Newell's Johnson at 10 than they will from Unleashed's more than 700 pages. Unleashed to do what? We never learn - and even he may not really know either.



Excellent



Compulsively readable and well-sourced... Seldon and Newell are the first to expose in detail how Johnson's No. 10 worked -- or, rather, how it didn't... A ripping yarn



Seldon and Newell have done a service to us all... If seeking instruction on how not to be a prime minister or, indeed, any kind of minister, this account should prove invaluable.



A detailed and damning account of Boris Johnson's rise to power and period as prime minister.



Every bit the damning indictment you would expect... Compelling



Johnson at 10 is rich with first-hand accounts of those who saw him at work - and are still trying to process what happened



This is a terrific book: a page-turning humdinger, a switchback ride through recent contemporary history unlike anything you have ever read.



Jaw-dropping... shows us what goes wrong in practical terms when someone unwilling even to learn how to govern, to apply himself properly to serious work and self-improvement, becomes prime minister.



Utterly scathing... a timely reminder of how good government should work



The scale of disfunction is laid bare in Johnson at 10, a history which might alternatively be titled "How not to be Prime Minister"



Johnson's flaws are brutally highlighted... Seldon and his co-writer Raymond Newell give the most comprehensive - and enjoyable - account yet of what exactly happened during Johnson's three years at No 10.



[T]he authoritative account of what he [Johnson] did with his time in power



This is a terrific book, a real page-turner, and a fascinating account of an administration that was both very significant and hugely disappointing.



Replete with stories of bombast, ego and foolishness.



[T]his compelling book will be the first one that future biographers go to. And they'll enjoy it



The great value of [this] book... is that it provides the layman and the historian with a treasure trove of interviews, and of insights from the heart of government



Extraordinarily detailed... fair yet devastating