Customer Rating:  
Summary: Self-publicist, as ever
Comment: Heseltine is just another failed pro-capitalist politician: the Labour Party is now full of this type - arrogant, rich, telling us what to think and what to do. His book is just like a Jeffrey Archer novel, that is, badly written, dishonest, self-serving and totally untrustworthy, reflecting accurately the author's (bad) character and (lack of) ethics. As a genre, politicians' memoirs are a waste of time and trees. This is all too typical of the genre.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Unshrink Yourself Tarzan!!
Comment: Life in the Jungle?!? Nope. Heseltine lived his life in a 20th Century, first world, economic super power and democracy..The fact that he thinks of it as a Jungle is worrying. That he uses such language is perhaps more revealing than the contents of the book - which is coy to say the least. He would be advised to spend half a day reading something like "Unshrink" by Mckeown & Whiteley (which demonstrates how we can succeed with people rather than against them) ... Then again he probably won't. About the best thing that can be said for it is that Tebbit hated it, "It is a tragic story of obsession and vanity," in his words (Telegraph). But that is hardly reason enough to buy it or buy into it's ideas.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A factual, informative and enjoyable book
Comment: Having just read this book, I can say that it is one of the most descriptive of autobiographies that I have ever read. It gives an in-depth insight in to the various departments Michael Heseltine was in charge of starting in the Heath government (1970-74) then in opposition (1974-79) and again in government (1979-97). It is a must read to find out what really happened in the 1980's and 90's as well as in his business and family life, information that you never knew about his life and that has never been public knowledge from not just a charismatic politician but also a truly world class statesman who was at the centre stage of political power for more than 30 years.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Save your money
Comment: This book tells you nothing about Heseltine you didn't know already. It is fundamentally flawed in that it reveals little of his character and glosses over key events in his career. There is nothing new at all in his account of the Westland affair or of his part in Thatcher's overthrow. All in all, extremely disappointing
Customer Rating:
Summary: The Wrong Title?
Comment: This book is a disappointment, and in my humble submission, it has the wrong title - can I suggest "Why I was Right All Along"?The author has a habit of glossing over major events - for example, the fall of Mrs Thatcher - an event that was pretty huge in anyone's book - occupies considerably less space than Mr H's National Service. Compare this with John Major's rather more (and I don't really mean this, but I can't think of a better word) HONEST account of his political life, and you start to see that you have bought into an ego trip. You'd have to be a real Heseltine fan to enjoy this, I'm afraid....
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