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Out of the Blue
- The Inside Story of the Unexpected Rise and Rapid Fall of Liz Truss
- Narrated by: Emily Pennant-Rea
- Length: 11 hrs and 12 mins
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Summary
Liz Truss’s journey from schoolgirl revolutionary to Britain’s shortest-serving Prime Minister
The Sunday Times Politics Book of the Year
Despite being written off and mocked by even her closest colleagues, Liz Truss slowly but determinedly achieved her goal of taking over 10 Downing Street – only to instantly plunge her administration into chaos and announce her resignation after a record-breaking 44 days. How did she do it? And what exactly went so wrong?
With unrivalled access and insight, award-winning political journalists Harry Cole and James Heale provide the answers, drawing on interviews with Truss’s friends and supporters, as well as her worst critics and rivals, from Kwasi Kwarteng to Michael Gove.
Tracking Truss’s transformation from geeky teenage Lib Dem to Tory PM, with the inside scoop on her first – and only – month in office, Out of the Blue is the unmissable behind-the-scenes account of Britain’s shortest-serving Prime Minister.
Critic reviews
"An insightful and at times riotously entertaining account of the lengthy rise and abrupt fall of Britain’s 56th Prime Minister. What was intended as a prologue to her premiership is now a riveting political obituary in which every page drips with the seeds of both triumph and disaster. Cole and Heale have produced a meticulously reported account of Truss’s drive, impulsiveness, eccentricity and ideological certainty which reads like a warning from history. It has elements of tragedy but is frequently very, very funny." (Tim Shipman)
"Make sure you put your seat belt on. Heale and Cole put you in the passenger seat of the fastest car crash in recent political history. It's an unmissable romp through Liz Truss's long journey to the top, fuelled by ambition and espresso. The clues that foretold the extraordinary catastrophe are all there, as the authors reveal in gory detail how Liz Truss nearly had the last laugh, before finally, as her government imploded, the joke was on her." (Laura Kuenssberg)
"Completely absorbing and, in places, astonishing. It is the story of a gigantic error, well told. And important lessons can be learnt." (Daniel Finkelstein)
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- Richard Arnold
- 21-02-23
The well told story of our most inept PM
The authors have done a great job producing a well told story of our most inept PM. It's a good thing that the back story of this woman who changes her mind like most folk change their socks, is so interesting, as we follow her move from the left of British politics to the right, heading it seems further right with every utterance. The woman is a shambles, and this book does a great job exposing her, and some of the great stories from the party she sort of led for little over a month in the autumn of last year. Well worth a credit!
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9 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 24-04-24
interesting but not a lot of new information
A good listen to a piece of recent history but it's more or less a run through without much new detail or extra insight.
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- Anonymous User
- 27-10-23
Quite slow but gets better
Not very well written, and takes a while to get going, especially in the early chapters. Some good stories during her time in the cabinet and especially deals done in the campaign.
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2 people found this helpful
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- ashford
- 30-01-23
The Enigma of Liz Truss
One of the strangest chapters in British politics, and one of the strangest politicians too. There was much about Liz Truss that was not good, but there was much that was good too. What can you say? She gambled, and lost. Much more to her than many politicians though. She certainly had a vision of what she wanted for the country. Attractively read by a Liz Truss soundalike.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Babatunde Oyedeji Oyebode
- 03-03-23
Very good indeed
Well researched. Good reading as well. A lot of food for thought indeed. Hope the party has learnt from this.
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- Mr
- 14-12-22
Long Form Reporting - Really Interesting
Coming so soon after Truss exited Downing Street this is more "reporting" than a detailed history of her brief tenure. The history here is her rise to power and stories of her life and ever changing political views. For me the lesson we learn from this book is that the current class of PR obsessed, career politicians are a disaster for the wider electorate. The hubris, egotism and complete disaster demonstrated by her days in power should be a lesson to us all.
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6 people found this helpful
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- Louise
- 10-02-23
Highly recommended
What a great read! The final chapters reveal exactly how bad things were - even worse than some of us thought at the time.
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- mark
- 24-12-22
Very eye-opening
A real insight to her career. I had to put this down at times because it made Me Too! Angry. It's unbelievable how some people behave.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Nick
- 19-12-22
Compelling listen
Although you know the end of the story, it’s a great insight of why it happened that way.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Sharky
- 30-04-24
A rushed but entertaining account of political hubris and incompetence
It’s astonishing that anyone who had followed Liz Truss’ political journey thought she was Prime Ministerial material. Enough deluded Tory grassroots members clearly did - and so she was, albeit for a mercifully brief but chaotic few weeks.
The narrative starts off like the story it was meant to be: a rather boringly detailed account of the background and career of an unexpected PM. But it gets more interesting as Truss climbs the greasy pole, reveals her true character and sows the seeds of her own downfall.
The ending feels somewhat rushed. Indeed, much of the book reads like a newspaper feature that hasn’t been as meticulously subbed as perhaps it should have been. Truss’ sudden resignation clearly sparked an essay-crisis re-write. That said, it kept me interested and had good behind-the-scenes detail and juicy quotes.
Had this been written as fiction 20 years ago, no one would have believed it. Sadly, the world has gone mad thanks to 24/7 News and internet algorithms distorting reality; Liz Truss’ rise and fall is just another illustration of our collective intellectual decline. Oh for the return of serious politicians…
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