Unleashed: The No.1 Sunday Times Bestselling ‘Political Memoir of the Century'

I raced through this book - almost flattened by its weight but spurred on by Boris's fluent, sagacious and witty prose. I'm already looking forward to that book on Shakespeare, delayed when he was called to the premiership, and, possibly even more, to the book he planned (still plans?) to write about Usama ibn Munquidh. It has always been a pleasure to read Boris' journalism and this book is a huge, and superb, example of this. I only wish he were still running the country....But this is "The story so far..." and its riveting stuff.

For people who are fans of Boris Johnson, they will find it entertaining and insightful, it’s easy to hear his voice and intonation as you read. He writes eloquently, of course, as a former journalist and his detailed descriptions of his time at the foreign office and as Mayor of London are illuminating. I feel the people who should read this most though, are his critics, especially those who were upset by his handling of Covid. He covers this honestly, admits his mistakes, but explains his thinking and what influenced it. An important read and one I am enjoying. The 772 pages seem daunting but it is not remotely dry or boring. Chapters are quite short and cover distinct topics.

Extremely entertaining! Loved the verbosity in particular….Boris is so engaging an author.I learned so much from ‘hearing’ Boris’ version of events in recent years. How refreshing to finally understand the intricacies of politics rather than just being fed the too often bias of the mainstream media.Hurry back to politics Boris! A breath of fresh air compared to the hypocrisies of the ‘stuffed suits’ we’ve had to endure for too long.

A wonderful read. Extremely well written, packed with all sorts of information. Despite the number of people who stabbed him in the back, Boris Johnson doesn't lay blame or show any spite. Humorous at times and very self effacing. Those who admire him will love this book and those who think they dislike him should definitely read it. Highly recommended.

Nothing more than a repeat of every lie he ever told. Spoken in that entertaining tone he uses to help conceal the severity of his sins.It could be a lesson in who we let run the country. But I won’t get my hopes up.

Very good value for the price. Haven't read it yet, but I'm sure it will be very entertaining. Boris is an excellent writer, very amusing 😄 😆 😀

Unleashed, the memoir of the recent UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, is a very good book indeed. Looking at the reviews, it’s easy to see that they are polarised: reviewers mostly either love, hate or despise Mr Johnson, and it shows. But they should remember that their reviews are of a book, not so much the person, and they should evaluate accordingly. I’m Irish, a small-‘n’ nationalist, and therefore not naturally in Boris Johnson’s political ‘camp’. But Mr Johnson’s book is excellent and highly readable, allowances being made for the author’s various ideological blind-spots and characteristic lack of forensic precision. Four stars, maybe four and a half.Unleashed is a breezy tour d’horizon (a phrase often applied to the writings, speeches and monologues of one Winston Spencer Churchill) of Boris Johnson’s life, UK politics, and world affairs -- often where these intersect. It is engagingly written; Boris is likeable, entertaining and draws in his reader. He is erudite, highly literate and genuinely funny. The pages zip by. This was easy to read, by an author clearly of high intelligence and ability. It’s one of those rare books that, when I put it down, it stayed in my mind and I looked forward to getting back to it. The problem is Johnson’s tendency to untruth, half-truth and the selective view, covered by articulate, humorous bluster. This is especially true in the case of his treatment of Brexit and Ireland. I know the details of this matter, but the observation is probably also true for many subjects with which I am less familiar. As well as Brexit, we also have Johnson’s tenure as Mayor of London, then Foreign Secretary; the Conservatives’ election in 2019 and Boris as Prime Minister; COVID at length; “levelling up”!!!; the war in Ukraine; and the political intrigues of his downfall.The general tone is upbeat and boosterish, heavy on often hilarious word-play (e.g. from p427: “I felt I knew my SARS from my Ebola…”), free of precise forensic detail, and inclined to skate lightly over the chaos and failures of the author’s periods in high office. There might be a fib or misrepresentation in every second paragraph -- but it’s still a riveting read. At 731 pages in the hardcover first edition, the book also rambles and digresses a bit too much – although often entertainingly.If I cover every theme in such a long book, if I argue every falsehood – this review will be almost as long as the book itself. So, I summarise.Foreign Secretary: by every evaluation I have seen, Boris Johnson was one of the worst and least-effective holders of this office. You wouldn’t think that from Unleashed: Boris Johnson swaggers, is eloquent and claims great achievements over his two years at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. It’s a great travelogue with good insights, but how much did he actually do or achieve?The “Infrastructure Revolution”: Boris huffs and puffs interminably about his favourite policy, “levelling up”; also about the deficiencies of UK infrastructure and productivity. But the whole thing is short on specifics, firm objectives, plans, dates, costs and assignment of accountability. Again, how much did Boris ever achieve? And using COVID as the cover-all excuse for non-achievement wears thin quickly.Brexit: Johnson egregiously conflates the effects of Brexit and COVID. Anything bad coming from Brexit is the fault of COVID. Good out-turns are, of course, the result of perceived “Brexit freedoms”.Brexit and Ireland: no, Boris, Northern Ireland is not *simply* “part of the UK”. He is wrong to assert that the EU ‘weaponised’ the Irish border, that it contrived a problem therefrom in a way calculated to impede Brexit. No. Where to locate the external EU customs border was an objective problem, an unavoidable consequence of Brexit. Before Brexit was ever conceived, it was (and it still remains) clear that there has to be an external EU customs border somewhere. After Brexit, that ‘somewhere’ had to be one of three places: 1) along or near the Republic of Ireland-Northern Ireland land border; 2) in the sea between the islands of Britain and Ireland; 3) in the sea between Ireland and France. Nothing else is possible. And, the best technology and process notwithstanding, it is impossible to dispense with a customs border entirely. This is incontrovertible fact, yet Mr Johnson persists vainly in trying to controvert, by huff, puff and bluster. Option 2 is the one Boris himself chose.Huff, puff and bluster: just one example from very many candidates: on p485: “…we also sacked thousands and thousands of public sector employees… [and] sold off dozens and dozens of TfL buildings…”. How about a few numbers, a bit of precision?Prime Minister: Mr Johnson doesn’t hesitate to take the credit for the Conservatives’ and his own election victory in 2019. Yet he was blindsided by “partygate”, Owen Paterson and Pincher. He was out of touch with his party rank and file – another fact he blames on COVID. He seems bemused by the sequence of scandals that brought him down – ‘nothing to do with me, guv’. He does temper this with something of a mea culpa and admission of weaknesses at the end of Chapter 58, “A Torrid Sort of Summer”. Boris is also, by inclination, a bit of a fascist: p65: “Parliament was a great fatberg of delay, blocking the pipes of the nation. Now was the time for the electorate to send up the cleansing dynorod and blast the obstruction aside.” Wow.Errors: on p490, the explanation of ‘R’, the reproductive rate of infections such as COVID, is just wrong. On page 21, Johnson cites the “Binomial curve”; he means the normal distribution. He is numerically and analytically illiterate. “This Blessed Plot” p208: Boris refers to the title of Hugo Young’s book as meaning a plot in the sense of a conspiracy to keep Britain in the EEC -- rather than a piece of ground, ‘this sceptred isle… This blessed plot’, as cited in the speech of John of Gaunt in Shakespeare’s Richard II. An error, or cynical misrepresentation? I could go on.Good Points: Chapter 46: “Surviving the Bear Pit” is an excellent I’ve-been-there how-to for handling Prime Minister’s Questions. Chapter 49: “Saving the Planet” is well-written aspirational bluster with a December 2020 “ten-point plan for a green recovery [from COVID]”. As ever, no deliverables, dates, costs, or assignment of responsibility. Part 9: “War in Europe” is an insightful, resolute, gung-ho account of the early days of the full-scale Ukraine war and of UK support. Useful, with things going badly at home.Inimitable Erudition: It’s not often that I’m caught out on vocabulary, but Boris does it. Page 139: a “phlegethontean fireball”; p432/4, four words I had to look up: spads, etiolated, ectomorphic, aetiology. These are just a few examples. Page 98 and the 2008 banking crisis: “It felt as if the air was coming out of a gigantic bouncy castle… and my job was to go around and insert the nozzle of my patent morale pump into every orifice I could find.” Page 169 and the Orbit observational tower: “… the longest tubular slide in the world. If you want to know what it feels like to be the bolus in the alimentary system of a gigantic mutant red trombone…”. And thus it goes. It’s vastly entertaining, but rather frivolous for one who held such consequential roles.In conclusion: Boris Johnson is like a British Donald Trump – with the great saving grace that he (Boris) is civil, pleasant, educated, literate and has a marvellous sense of humour. His book is a pleasure to read, somewhat unserious for a holder of such high office, and everything must be put through a reality-and-truth filter.Recommended.

Whatever one thinks of Boris Johnson, he was a prime minister who will not soon be forgotten! This is a very thick book which I probably won't read from cover to cover, but, like other PMs' memoirs, I use for dipping into when I want his take on a particular event. For example, he wrote very sensitively about the demise of the late Queen Elizabeth II. Good illustrations. If you collect political memoirs, it is worth adding to the collection.

excellent

A wonderful wordsmith. An enjoyable, highly entertaining and interesting read.