No real rush
- 9 Jul 07, 09:37 AM
I have a confession. I did not rush into work early this morning to read "". I am not now salivating in anticipation of what Alastair Campbell will reveal. I even found his sparring with John Humphrys a little less than exciting. (listen to the interview (mp3 file)).
I did though greatly enjoy Humphrys' reminder that the man who calls for higher standards in journalism once used his column to call prime minister John Major a 'shallow lying toad of a man". Quite.
UPDATE 1130: Reading back on what I wrote above, I realise there's a danger my dismissal of Campbell's diaries show that I'm in a sulk about him. Since writing the entry I discover that he makes just one reference to me and that is to call me a "jerk". Believe it or not, this is not the reason for my genuine lack of interest.
As Anthony Howard has said very eloquently these diaries are useless as memoirs because they're so filleted (listen here). The give away is in the book's title which speaks of "extracts" from Campbell's diaries. The key point is that the extracts were chosen not by a publisher or an editor but by Campbell for political reasons. They give a partial and, therefore, misleading view of recent history unlike the best diaries which show the author and those close to him warts and all.
