Unleashed (book)
 | |
| Author | Boris Johnson |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Memoir |
| Published | 10 October 2024 |
| Publisher | William Collins |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Pages | 784 |
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Unleashed is a memoir written by Boris Johnson, who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2019 to 2022. It was published by HarperCollins in the UK on 10 October 2024 and in the US on 15 October 2024.
Publication history
[edit]Johnson's forthcoming memoir was announced in January 2023.[1] He received a £510,000 advance.[2] The title, Unleashed, and UK and US publication dates on 10 and 15 October 2024 were announced in June 2024.[3][4][5] Excerpts were published in the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday on the weekend of 27–29 September.[6]
Two days before the publication date in London, a launch party was held at the headquarters of the Institute of Directors, attended by James Cleverly, Michael Gove, Kit Malthouse, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Priti Patel, Grant Shapps, and Ben Wallace among others.[7]
In the lead up to release Unleashed topped Amazon UK Books' Best Sellers list.[8] The book stayed at number 1 in the top 50 in its second week since publication even though sales for that week were down 62% on the first week.[9]
Style and content
[edit]Reports on Unleashed have noted that Johnson's style is unconventional for a prime minister's memoirs, dramatic and full of wordplay like his speaking style or his newspaper columns,[10][11][12] and also full of exclamations like "kerchingeroo!" and "BIFF!"[13][14] The book contains several revelations: that he considered a military raid on The Netherlands to secure the release of Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine doses,[6][11][15][16] that he himself became seriously ill with Covid and "might have carked it" but for the care he received in hospital,[15][16][17] that on a request, he vainly attempted to dissuade Prince Harry from leaving the UK by means of a "manly pep talk",[16][18][19] and that he considers it possible that a listening device found in his personal toilet at the Foreign Office in 2017 had been placed there by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.[11][16][20][21] He also writes that Queen Elizabeth II's cause of death was bone cancer.[11][13][16]
In interviews promoting the book, Johnson also said that Donald Trump would have prevented the Russian invasion of Ukraine if he had been re-elected in 2020,[21] and that he is "optimistic" about a second Trump presidency.[22]
Reception
[edit]A reviewer for The Times characterised Unleashed as "important historical document, but not necessarily a valuable one ... very generously seasoned with juvenile gags, some of more than acceptable quality";[13] a reviewer for the Washington Post as "Funny. Frustrating. And not entirely believable."[11] The Observer review warned: "No phrase that Johnson writes in this book comes entirely unlaced with hyperbole or self-serving spin. You'd hope the copy editors were being paid by the marginal note and had access to physiotherapy for RSI."[23] Under the headline "Memoirs of a clown", the reviewer for The Guardian noted that Johnson "does not do reflective" and called the book "entertaining but ... irritating for its lack of structure".[10] Reviewing the book for The New Statesman, Nicola Sturgeon, the former Scottish First Minister, characterised it as "not as bad as I thought it would be" but too unserious: "There is nothing that he won't make a crass joke about if it serves his narrative purpose."[12] The reviewer for The Independent called it "shameless, sour, predictable, self-exculpatory stuff";[24] the review in The Economist is titled "Boris Johnson shows how not to write a political memoir".[14]
The Daily Mail, in introducing its serialised excerpts, called Unleashed "the political memoir of the century".[11][10] The reviewer for The Telegraph gave it five stars, praising Johnson's writing but noting that "the games with words ... can distract" and that the book offers little insight into his "inner life".[25]
References
[edit]- ^ Shaffi, Sarah (16 January 2023). "Boris Johnson to publish 'memoir like no other' of his time as PM". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
- ^ Cheng-Morris, James (6 October 2024). "Boris Johnson's memoir: Everything critics have said about 'twisted' book Unleashed". Yahoo! News UK. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
- ^ Penna, Dominic (20 June 2024). "Boris Johnson announces release date for 'unrestrained' memoir". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
- ^ Croft, Ethan (20 June 2024). "Londoner's Diary: Boris Johnson announces release date for his memoir 'Unleashed'". Evening Standard. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
- ^ Wallace, Mark (20 August 2024) [19 August 2024]. "Boris Johnson is back and ready to unleash some chaos". The i (opinion).
It's routine for former politicians to rock their party's boat. Ordinarily, you'd release a book like this on the first day of the relevant conference, for maximum effect – it just so happens that a leadership election has provided an even juicier opportunity.
- ^ a b Abdul, Geneva (28 September 2024). "Covid, canal raids and May's nostrils: six key takeaways from Boris Johnson's memoir". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
- ^ "Team Boris unleashed as Tories turn out for Johnson's book launch". Daily Telegraph. 9 October 2024. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
- ^ Knight, Lucy (4 October 2024). "Boris Johnson's memoir, Unleashed, tops Amazon UK sales list ahead of publication". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
- ^ Adu, Aletha (24 October 2024). "Sales of Boris Johnson's memoir slump by 62% in second week". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
- ^ a b c Kettle, Martin (3 October 2024). "Unleashed by Boris Johnson review – memoirs of a clown". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f Booth, William (10 October 2024). "Boris Johnson just published his political memoir. It's unbelievable". Washington Post. Retrieved 14 October 2024. Also at Waikato Times, 11 October 2024.
- ^ a b Sturgeon, Nicola (10 October 2024). "The two sides of Boris Johnson". The New Statesman. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
- ^ a b c Peck, Tom (3 October 2024). "Boris Johnson's memoir Unleashed reviewed — Kapow! Kaboom!". The Times. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
- ^ a b "Boris Johnson shows how not to write a political memoir". The Economist. 4 October 2024.
- ^ a b Ambrose, Tom; agency report (27 September 2024). "Boris Johnson: we considered 'aquatic raid' on Netherlands to seize Covid vaccine". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
- ^ a b c d e Scott, Geraldine; Seren Hughes (10 October 2024). "Unleashed: 18 things we learnt from Boris Johnson's memoir". The Times. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
- ^ Doherty, Caitlin (27 September 2024). "Boris Johnson feared sleeping with Covid in case he 'never woke up', according to Unleashed". The Independent. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
- ^ Cherruault, Nicole (27 September 2024). "Boris Johnson tried to persuade Prince Harry not to leave the UK". The Times. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
- ^ Coughlan, Sean (27 September 2024). "Johnson's 'hopeless' bid to persuade Prince Harry to stay". BBC News. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
- ^ Sheridan, Danielle; Gordon Rayner (3 October 2024). "Bugging device found in my bathroom after Netanyahu visit, claims Boris Johnson". Daily Telegraph.
- ^ a b Rayner, Gordon (3 October 2024). "Exclusive Boris Johnson interview: Putin would not have invaded Ukraine if Trump was president". Daily Telegraph (interview). Retrieved 14 October 2024.
- ^ Landler, Mark (12 October 2024). "Boris Johnson Makes a Case for Trump's Return, and Perhaps, His Own". The New York Times (interview). Retrieved 14 October 2024.
- ^ Adams, Tim (6 October 2024). "Unleashed by Boris Johnson review – regrets? Not even a few". The Observer. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
- ^ O'Grady, Sean (4 October 2024). "Boris Johnson's Unleashed: A memoir that's twisted, sour and full of yet more lies". The Independent. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
- ^ Howse, Christopher (4 October 2024). "Boris Johnson writes better than any other politician – his memoir is proof". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 14 October 2024.