The Rivals. The Intimate Story of a Political Marriage

London England: Fourth Estate. Hardback. The Rivals. Creases to back D/J. Waterstain mark to back D/J. This is the story of two men set about remaking a political party and them came to dominate the politics of their country. Uniquely, they shared power in office, making their relationship itself the stamp of their government. But tensions and agonies ripple unseen behind the public face of a prime minister and chancellor united in policy and instinct. Tony Blair and Gordon Brown shared a tiny windowless office when they first entered the House of Commons in 1983, and two quite different characters began an intimate parliamentary life together. One had been a school-boy actor with no dreams of power, the other a student agitator who thought of little else. Theirs is a story of intense friendship and rivalry, with an exotic cast that includes Peter Mandelson, who found he had to choose between the two, anoiting one for the highest office and deeply wounding the other. Characters and events mingle and unfold to reveal how the union that seemed able to withstand all storms changed in the crucible of power, and how rival gangs fought relentlessly for glory. Such is the life behind the doors of Downing Street. This book is the account of the most enduring complex and important relationship in recent times, told brilliantly by a commentator whose observation of the principals and understanding of the critical moments is matchless. In the game of high emotions and in the world of the black arts that realise political ambition, it is the relationship that has come to dominate and define the modern era. Illustrated. 346 pp. (We carry a wide selection of titles in The Arts, Theology, History, Politics, Social and Physical Sciences. academic and scholarly books and Modern First Editions etc.) . Very Good. Hardcover. 2nd Impression. 2001.