FORMER BRITISH prime minister Tony Blair’s memoirs, which have already earned him a multi-million fee from publishers Random House, are to be published in September.
The publication date has been deliberately chosen for after the British general election, when his successor, Gordon Brown, will fight to win a fourth term for the Labour Party.
In a statement last night, Mr Blair said the memoirs, titled Tony Blair: The Journey, which he has written himself and without the aid of a ghost-writer, will describe "the human as much as the political dimensions" of his life and time in No 10 Downing Street.
Mr Blair will offer a defence of the invasion of Iraq and his account of his often tempestuous relationship with Gordon Brown.
His closest aide, Alistair Campbell, was sharply criticised when his heavily edited diaries failed to cover much of the battles between Mr Blair and Mr Brown, but Random House last night said the former prime minister will be “frank and open”.
Mr Blair said: “I have really enjoyed the writing of the book. I have tried to write a book which describes the human as much as the political dimensions of life as prime minister.
“Though necessarily retrospective, it is an attempt to inform and shape current and future thinking as much as an historical account of the past. Most of all I want readers to have as much pleasure reading it as I had writing it,” he went on.
The book will be published simultaneously in the UK, US and Canada.
Random executive Gail Rebuck said: “Few British prime ministers have shaped the nation’s course as profoundly as Tony Blair did during his 10 years in power. His achievements and his legacy will be debated for years to come.” The memoirs will, she said, “reveal in intimate detail this unique political and personal journey and provide an insight into the man, the politician and the statesman, charting successes, controversies and disappointments with an extraordinary candour”.
Mr Blair’s US publisher, Sonny Mehta, said: “His memoir is refreshing, both for its candour and vivid portrayal of political life. We all knew Blair was an extraordinary statesman and gifted thinker. We can now add exceptional writer to that list.”
