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Great Hatred, Little Room
Great Hatred, Little Room
Oct 28, 2024 1:16 AM

Author:Jonathan Powell

Great Hatred, Little Room

Making peace in Northern Ireland was the greatest success of the Blair government, and one of the greatest achievements in British politics since the Second World War. In Jonathan Powell's masterly account we learn just how close the talks leading to the Good Friday agreement came to collapse and how the parties finally reached a deal.

Pithy, outspoken and precise, Powell, Tony Blair's chief of staff and chief negotiator, gives us that rarest of things, a true insider's account of politics at the highest level. He demonstrates how the events in Northern Ireland have valuable lessons for those seeking to end conflict in other parts of the world and shows us how the process of making peace is sometimes messy and often blackly comic.

Reviews

Fascinating and fast-moving... an extraordinary book

—— Observer

A powerful contribution to the history of Anglo-Irish relations

—— Literary Review

A fascinating book. No-one else could provide such an insider's account, for he was the only one to be involved in the detail of every tortuous step

—— Sunday Telegraph

Jonathan Powell has produced one of the half-dozen best books on the Troubles... He was the ultimate insider... Powell writes in a personal manner, with deft character sketches

—— Independent

This is the best-informed rough draft of history so far written by someone who was on the roller-coaster ride to a settlement

—— The Times

Students of government will find Powell's book a treasure trove

—— Max Hastings , Sunday Times

[A] highly informative account

—— Nicholas Bagnall , The Sunday Telegraph

He is an engaging witness to the events that brought peace to the benighted north - largely because he wants no future role in politics and can afford to be outspoken

—— Scotland on Sunday

All parties should consult Powell’s meticulous account of negotiations that underpinned the peace process

—— Michael Conaghan , Belfast Telegraph

Shows that publishers continue to believe in a market for the thinking person's football book... a good historical read

—— Matt Dickinson , The Times

A fine book... well-researched and superbly written

—— Soccer and Society

This original thesis, written with style, wit and authority, explains how the beastly game became more beautiful.

—— Simon Redfern , The Independent on Sunday

Delightful... a valuable work of social history

—— Rob Attar , BBC History magazine

Utterly absorbing, a really good read, sensitive and balanced and surely the definitive last word on the subject

—— Dr Harry Shukman, Emeritus Fellow of Modern Russian History, St Antony’s College Oxford

Rappaport narrates her story in an original fashion, focusing on the final two weeks inside the Ipatiev House before the murders

—— Times Literary Supplement

Brilliantly shows how history is never simple but always enthralling when written with this style

—— The Bookseller

Extraordinary and powerful ... Having uncovered enlightening new sources, Rappaport has produced a highly accessible account of the last 14 days in the lives of the former tsar Nicholas, his wife Alexandra and their children

—— Western Daily Press

Riveting account of turbulence, social upheaval and murder in early 20th-century Russia, which draws on new evidence uncovered in the icy, remote city where Tsar Nicholas and his family met their bloody deaths. Juxtaposing fascinating domestic details with analysis of the international political scene, the author strips away the romance of their incarceration and the mythology surrounding their murders to reveal an extraordinary human situation and its seismic worldwide repercussions

—— Sainsbury’s Magazine

Rappaport precisely imagines those last few days ... As the pages turn quickly towards an end that is never in doubt, a picture emerges of a devout, loving and rather commonplace family

—— Waterstone’s Books Quarterly

The great strength of Rappaport's book is her tight focus on the royal family's final three months in the Iaptiev House... She has told the human story, and the truly appalling tale of what man can do to man

—— Independent (Ireland)

A tragic and thrilling account ... Ekaterinburg is really a twofold triumph for Helen Rappaport ... On top of the impressive level of research that Rappaport has conducted in order to produce Ekaterinburg, she also has an excellent and engaging writing style and succeeds in maintaining the tension and mood throughout ... Gritty and compelling

—— suite101.com
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