what a nice guy!

This book has surprised me by restoring to some extent my faith in politics. At a time when the new normal includes lying, and cheating your way to power it is so refreshing to be reminded that there are people with principles out there. Regardless of whether you agree with his politics Ed Balls shows himself here to be a decent, honourable, intelligent, thoughtful human being and these are traits which are sadly in short supply just now. An enjoyable and sometimes even funny listen, all the more surprising as I didn't mean to buy it, having wrongly thought that I had clicked on the Buy Now button for John Bercow's new book! I was going to return it without reading it but I'm glad that I decided to give it a go.

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very interesting account of his experiences

the ground covered by the book is wider and more varied and his head on approach is different from that I saw in the short tv and Commons exposure. I agree with far more of what he is saying in the book than I thought I would. Labour especially has lost a vital member from the benches I wish there were more like him.
I listened to all the book and had members of the family listen to a number of extracts that were amusing and or unexpected. I have recommended it to friends who like me have worked with local and national politicians as one of the people we would have appreciated rather than suffered.

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Slow start but glad I persevered

I almost gave up on this book after the first chapter, which was rubbish. But really glad I persevered as it dramatically improves when he gets onto the matter of his speech impediment, and his political career.

Like most memoirs he does airbrush some things, and is highly partisan like all politicians, but I got the impression he was generally telling the truth.

It’s a very human memoir which really helped me understand what it’s actually like being a politician, so worth listening to for that alone.

Ed balls always struck me as a bit of a buffoon, but this book shows that there is a lot of substance to him as well

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Must listen

A must read for anyone with an interest in the political history of Britain over the last quarter of a century.

A frank, at times very personal, look at the author's own career; Balls explains his thinking at the time and now with hindsight on some of the most important events in modern British politics; from Clause 4 to Brexit.

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A good account of a career in British politics

Listening to the author tell his own story is a perfect way to listen to an autobiography. But, I feel he held back a little and could have opened up some real insights into the highs and lows, the success stories and the failures. They are covered - and sone so well and with enthusiasm - but I feel he held back somewhat

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Ed Balls - The Person

Where does Speaking Out rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

A frank account of life before, in and after politics. This rates as one of the most interesting audio books I have heard so far.

What other book might you compare Speaking Out to, and why?

Similar to other political biographies from Blair, Brown etc although this had a more humanistic approach.

What about Ed Balls’s performance did you like?

Good if a little frenetic at times.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Yes and it made me thoughtful.

Any additional comments?

Overall a very enjoyable and entertaining read.

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Insightful but at time Egotistical

Learning about one dot eh brightest stars of new labour was insightful and understanding what they got right and wrong from Ed's point of view was fantastically engaging. This is an excellent book on the lessons any budding politician or politically minded person should know. However, the last part of the book just feels like a justification for centerism, and labels anyone with slightly left of centre views a radical or an outsider. For someone that says Labour ought to be a unifying party, he does a good a job of alienating a lot of younger, more left wing voters. It feels symptomatic of the centrists of Labour - unable to allow moderate left wing people to participate in the policy process.

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Made even more powerful by author's narration

Ed Balls shares some of his insight and experiences at the top of politics with admirable reflection of what failed as well as succeeded. The section on managing privacy for the family was fascinating and issues around his and others' stammers were moving and informative too. The most useful chapters were where politics combines with the economy and which should lead which. The fact Ed Balls gives the narration dramatically improves the impact and emphasis on his thoughts and lessons for the future. Balls has lectured at Harvard since losing his seat in 2015 and through this audiobook we get an impressively reflective lecture on a wide range of material that poses as many questions as it answers, but is no worse for that.

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Thematic Bio that works well and is interesting

Interesting to here all the little anecdotes from his time in Poltics, if you like biographies worth a go

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What a surprise

This book was on a reading list. I never go in for reading autobiographies, what a surprise to enjoy this so much. An utterly human re - telling of a key part of Labour's history. A reflective piece that reveals some of the challenges of juggling family life and a political career. Having Ed narrate it adds massively to its telling.

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