Draft:John Major: The Autobiography
| Author | John Major |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Memoir |
| Published | October 1999 |
| Publisher | HarperCollins |
| Media type | Print (Hardback) |
| Pages | 774 |
| ISBN | 0006530745 |
John Major: The Autobiography is a memoir by former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom John Major
History[edit]
Synopsis[edit]
My deepest regret as prime minister is that constant party squabbles stopped me achieving what I wanted in government. Perhaps I really was too conservative, conventional, safe, boring, defensive, quiet, grey. But as I sit here with a cup of tea in my back garden, with Norma at my side and the cricket on the radio, I remind myself that there is more to life than politics.[1]
John Major, John Major: The Autobiography, page
Publication[edit]
In November 1999, Major promoted his book at an event at the London Chamber of Commerce & Industry hosted by President of the Chamber of Commerce Colin Parsons.[2] The event was broadcasted on the American television program Book TV on the C-SPAN2 cable network.[2]
Reception[edit]
Nielsen Book Research reports that the book sold 91,513 copies with 5,415 of those being in the first week.[7] Compared with Tony Blair's A Journey, Gordon Brown's My Life, Our Times and David Cameron's For the Record the book ranks second in terms of sales and third in terms of first week sales.[7]
Conservative MP Kenneth Baker who had served as home secretary under Major wrote a review of the book for The Guardian.[3] Baker claimed that the book was Major's attempt to "influence the Muse" so that when he "comes to be sieved he will not fall into the group of the less successful Prime Ministers of the twentieth century" whom Baker described as being Arthur Balfour, Neville Chamberlain and Anthony Eden.[3]
References[edit]
- ^ a b "John Major: The Autobiography". The Guardian. 15 October 1999. Archived from the original on 23 October 2022.
- ^ a b c "John Major: The Autobiography". C-SPAN. 2 November 1999. Archived from the original on 23 October 2022.
- ^ a b c Baker, Kenneth (17 October 1999). "He let the bastards grind him down". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 23 October 2022.
- ^ Offman, Craig (5 October 1999). "John Major slams Maggie Thatcher in upcoming memoir". CNN. Archived from the original on 23 October 2022.
- ^ "Major damns 'intolerable' Thatcher". BBC News. 11 August 1999. Archived from the original on 23 October 2022.
- ^ "Major 'meets long-lost half-brother'". BBC News. 20 May 1999. Archived from the original on 23 October 2022.
- ^ a b Whannel, Kate (25 September 2020). "David Cameron: How is his autobiography selling?". BBC News. Archived from the original on 23 October 2022.
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