The Complete Yes Minister: The Diaries of a Cabinet Minister [Paperback]

Jonathan Lynn (Author), Antony Jay (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1988

This book is a companion to the highly successful BBC series, "Yes Minister."

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The British TV series Yes Minister (shown here on PBS) began as an innocuous spoof on the vagaries of politicians and civil servants. Its popularity increased as it developed a deepening satiric perception of how the British are actually governed: Ministers are kept in the dark by their civil service advisers as much as possible; their sole domain is "making policy," while the civil servants get on with running the country and making sure the politicians get the blame. In turning their scripts into a book, the authors have gone beyond a simple recounting of the episodes. Presented as actual memoirsthe diary of James Hacker, Minister for the Department of Administrative Affairs, augmented by material from his two civil service advisers, Sir Humphrey Appleby and Bernard WooleyYes Minister is an amusingly literate, sharply satirical account of the exchanges of quid pro quo necessary to run any government. The book surpasses its TV origins and stands firmly on its own merits. On the bestseller lists in England for over three years, this provocative satire could well be considered a British Doonesbury. 25,000 first printing.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From AudioFile

Ah! Why aren't more radio dramas like this? Perhaps because it's hard to write comedy as polished as Jonathan Lynn's and Antony Jay's in this classic British satire following a new government minister as he butts up against the entrenched civil service and the realities of political life. It's hard to tell who is being most severely critiqued. Is it complacent civil servants? Shallow, ignorant elected officials? The British public, who allow all this to go on? Thankfully, listeners don't have to decide. Instead, they can enjoy Paul Eddington's wonderful timing as Jim Hacker, Nigel Hawthorne's supercilious characterization of Sir Humphrey Appleby, and Derek Fowlds's precise portrait of Bernard Wooley. G.T.B. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 521 pages
• Publisher: Harpercollins (May 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060971657
• ISBN-13: 978-0060971656
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,045,840 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Priceless!, December 17, 2003

By 

Tiggah "the Anglophile" (Calgary, Alberta Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Complete Yes Minister (Paperback)

It is not uncommon for writers of britcoms to supplement a successful television series with a text-based adaptation, and such is indeed what writers Jonathan Lynn and Antony Jay have done with Yes Minister (and its sequel, Yes Prime Minister). It is uncommon, however, to find such a good one.

Every bit as erudite and witty as the series upon which it is based, The Complete Yes Minister (originally published in 1984 and subtitled The Diaries of a Cabinet Minister), is ostensibly by the Right Hon. James Hacker MP (with Lynn and Jay serving merely as humble editors!). The year is 2019--and no this is NOT science fiction! Although Hacker kept a daily diary of his experiences and opinions whilst in office in the 1980s, the subsequent passage of time has resulted in the expiration of the Thirty-Year Rule. What this means is that the editors (who are writing from Hacker College, Oxford, by the way!) now conveniently have access to (and are able to publish) copies of all the memos and minutes written by Sir Humphrey Appleby (amongst others)--copies of which are included in the book, thereby providing us with a perspective other than Hacker's rather narrow (and, at least initially, innocent) one.

The book commences (as one would expect!) with the "Editors' Note." Lynn and Jay elaborate on the problems they encountered in editing the Diaries and how these were dealt with. Nevertheless, they admit it falls to us ultimately to decide for ourselves whether Hacker's account represents: "(a) what happened, (b) what he believed happened, (c) what he would like to have happened, (d) what he wanted others to believe happened, or (e) what he wanted others to believe that he believed happened"! The editors also include a note of thanks to Sir Humphrey (whose last days were spent in St. Dympna's Hospital for the Elderly Deranged!) for information gleaned from conversations which were held with him "before the advancing years, without in any way impairing his verbal fluency, disengaged the operation of his mind from the content of his speech."

The Diaries themselves are divided into twenty-one chapters (one chapter per episode) with 20 to 30 pages each (there are 514 pages in all). Of course there is dialogue (from Hacker's recollection), but the Diaries comprise so much more. The inclusion of copies of memos, letters, interviews, newspaper clippings, entries from Sir Humphrey's own diary, not to mention the recollections of Sir Bernard Woolley (from conversations with the editors) make for a far more dynamic, fun book than if the writers had merely presented us with the series' scripts. The format also allows for so much of Hacker's thoughts to be included--much of which we as viewers were never privy to. Finally, the Diaries are liberally annotated by the editors with helpful, humorously phrased bits of background information often pertaining to government workings or terminology--bits that are additional to the television series.

Of course, it is being a fan of the television series and having watched it with such enjoyment that makes this book (a UK publication) such a gem as we picture Hacker, Sir Humphrey, etc., in our mind's eye. But it is so creatively written, with all the original wit (and more), that it's a superb book in its own right--one which I'd recommend to anyone looking for an intelligent, hilariously witty, pun-filled book--one that also happens to offer a wealth of insight into the inner workings of the parliamentary system of government. For those, however, for whom this richly witty, intelligent series is a favourite, this book (together with it's sequel) really is a must-have, and I recommend it every bit as highly as the superb series upon which it is based!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars That rarest humour - which is found in truth., May 24, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Complete Yes Minister: The Diaries of a Cabinet Minister (Paperback)

Yes Prime Minister is that rarest of books. It is based on a TV show, itself hilarious, and yet manages to be even better than the show. Whereas the show descends into slapstick and exaggerated humour at times, the book does not miss a step. The plots are wonderfully woven, the characters all superbly crafted and uniformly shallow and the writing is impeccable - there are never two words when one will do, and the characters will stay with you long after the first (of many) reading(s). I suspect in years to come, when some distance can be put between the book and it's times, it will be recognised as one of the all time comedy classics. Buy it now!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unsurpassed!!, July 24, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Complete Yes Minister: The Diaries of a Cabinet Minister (Hardcover)

The complete Yes, Minister & Yes, Prime Minister series is absolutely brilliant!! The inner workings of the Civil Service are brought to light in a form that is both humourous and witty. This is genre-defining political satire, and reading the book and watching the shows have provided me with hours of immense pleasure, as well as insight into what really goes on in the corridors of power.