Diaries [Audiobook] [Audio Cassette]

Alan Clark (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 6, 2000

On these cassettes you can hear Eton-educated Alan Clark recount his journal entries from 1983, the year his father, Lord (Kenneth) Clark died, to the moment when he became subject to the Privy Council oath in February 1991. He relates of his love for Saltwood and his family, his relationship with the Lady, his feud with T.K. at the M.O.D., his world travels, his opinions, at times contemptuous, of his colleagues, and his dalliances with pretty girls.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Alan Clark, educated at Eton and Oxford, read for the Bar but did not practise. Tory MP for Plymouth Sutton 1972-1992; Kensington and Chelsea, 1997-99. Various junior ministerial appointments in the Margaret Thatcher and John Major governments of the 1980s. Best-known for his Diaries (three vols) which The Times placed in the Samuel Pepys class. They were filmed by teh BBC with John Hurt as Clark and Jenny Agutter as Jane Clark. Alan Clark died in 1999. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Harper Collins Audio (November 6, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0001057464
• ISBN-13: 978-0001057463
• Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Biting and hilarious, August 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Diaries (Hardcover)

Alan Clark comes across as a bastard, but a stylish one at that. There is none of the self-serving drivel that even the best autobiographies normally serve up. Instead, you get raw, mostly unedited thoughts straight from the mind of the author. Of course only an English aristocrat would have the nerve to have diaries of such a nature published and not give a damn about what others think. Therein lies the charm of this enormously entertaining book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Vivid, funny and disturbing stories of politics in the UK, November 26, 1998

By 

Sandy Needham [e-mail] (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Diaries (Hardcover)

This is funnier than "Yes Minister" and is a memoir of a real minister. Very incisive comments by Clark, critical of many, praising others. Makes a cabinet minister of pedigree and lineage look like a real person, showing the great difficulty of an elected official in changing the course of the "ship of state". It really appears that this is a private memoir now made public - seems totally fresh and honest. A very good read.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A frank account of life in the fast lane., October 7, 1999

By 

Mark Cannon (London, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Diaries (Hardcover)

Alan Clark was only a moderately successful politician, but he ranks with Harold Nicolson as one of the best British political diarists this century. Clark was a wealthy (but not aristocratic) Tory MP under Margaret Thatcher (whose ankles he praises) rising to Minsister of State for Defence Procurement frustatingly short of the Cabinet. His diaries record his hopes, fears, lusts, successes and failures (including memorably the occasion when he addressed Parliament when drunk). His account of Thatcher's fall is gripping. You need a good grasp of British politics in the 80's to understand all the nuances, but anyone can enjoy this candid record. Sadly his recent death may deprive us of volume 2.