Read The Insider
At the record-breaking age of 28 Piers Morgan was made editor of the News of the World, the UK's biggest-selling Sunday newspaper. The decade that followed was one of the most tumultuous in modern times, a period in which we witnessed the self-implosion of the Tories, the rise of New Labour, the Royal Family brought to its knees by scandal and tragedy, horrific news events like Dunblane, september 11, and the war in Iraq - alongside a seemingly endless supply of fantastically entertaining sport and celebrity gossip. Throughout the period (he later moved to the Mirror, Infamously deciding to take it upmarket and stand alone in making the paper anti-war) he kept detailed diaries of what happened, as it happened - recording encounters and escapades with the key figures involved, from Murdoch to Blair, Diana to the Beckhams. The Insider
Given the fact that the author is such an arrogant tosser, this was a surprisingly enjoyable read. Written before he became the TV personailty he is now, it provides great insight into many of the major events of recent times from the point of view of the editor of a sleazy redtop newspaper. English I hate to admit it, but this is the best book I’ve read for ages! A fascinating insight into the life of a newspaper, of the Blair government, of London in the Eighties and Nineties, of celebrity life in general…..Piers knew everyone who was anyone it seems, and was able to write about it in a witty and engaging way. He is a tosser, a lucky tosser no doubt – and just how did he land that editorial job? – and even he must look back on those days and shake his head in wonder. Lady Di, Tony Blair, Posh and Becks, the icons of the age captured in a way that no other media could. Piers’ big-headedness doesn’t survive his own acknowledgment of it either, as in the final chapter he goes on about how Tony Blair decided to stay on in government after seeking the counsel of Piers and then, in the next paragraph, slates Alastair Campbell for thinking he was more important than he was! But that’s what makes the book as entertaining as it is. English This book was OK, and had some interesting parts, but I bought it thinking it would be more about celebrity gossip than anything else (given that the cover is full of celebs!). It focused too much on politics for my liking. Also Piers does not come across in the best way. He has a reputation for being pig headed, and this book does not do much to refute that reputation. English Piers Morgan comes across as one of the most self-centred braggarts in a world filled with egos, but it's hard to ignore that this is a work of pure bravado and one that keeps you hooked consistently.
His follow-ups, once Morgan himself becomes a 'celebrity', aren't a patch on this first volume.
Read, be infuriated and enjoy. English God he's bloody annoying but his account as editor of a top tabloid makes for fascinating reading at a time when exclusives were happening every week and before the internet really took over breaking news. Compelling, gossipy and light. English
Well, I took a chance on this book as I had never read anything written by Piers before but I was very glad I had done so as I found it a really good enjoyable read.
If you had any interest in UK current affairs during 1994 to 2004 then this book gives you a good insight behind some of the stories which gripped the nation. Major stories during this period included the death of Diana, 9/11 and the war in Iraq.
Piers had a lot of access to some of the key players in the news over this period and therefore this book gives some real good snippets behind those stories.
The only slight criticism I would make is that given that this book has been written with the benefit of hindsight, Piers has done his best to avoid that hindsight but there are some places where it makes him look strangely prescient if you assume hindsight wasn't used.
Piers doesn't come across the best all the time as there are instances where he reveals things which don't put him in the best light, so he's not afraid of showing himself to be less than perfect. However, there may be more incidences like this which didn't make the book so its hard to judge.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will be straight onto his next book. English Piers Morgan is not a popular guy. I kinda like that in him. I see a lot of him in myself.
I like the way the book starts with his sacking from The Mirror in 2004 by way of intro before swapping back to 1994 to start proper.
The book reads like an ongoing soap opera as he displays his love/hate relationship with so many luminaries and news makers. From the many meetings he has with Tony Blair to the email relationship he has with Peter Mandelson and the ever ongoing clashes he has with Alistair Campbell, it’s surprising how influential he actually was. Then there is appeasing of less important and desperate for exposure figures, including immediately after 9-11 and his own run-in with terrorism at Canary Wharf, a pivotal time for the newspaper which turns a corner and becomes very anti-war and begins a unique period in the British press. The tempestuous relationship between the British newspapers is wholly entertaining and very interesting reading. It really is such a cut throat business.
It’s hard to keep up with all of the schmoozing though. His life seems to have been going from paid lunch to champagne reception to dinner party every day and the whole element of the free ride he gets kinda wears thin and I can imagine annoys most of the people that probably read this. How he found time to edit a newspaper is anyone’s guess.
The ego and arrogance and the sheer cruelty he switches on is quite amazing. There seems to be nothing he wont do or cover, despite some brief moments of restraint, to get his circulation up. He shows that his job is one similar to the other annals of celebrity, that urge to constantly be able to produce the best result. The number one single. The highest grossing movie. That ethic of when you’re hot, you’re hot and he certainly was for a great deal of time. But we all fall off our perches eventually and fall he did, succumbing to the axe above him that was dealt with as much thought and care as many of the exclusives he constantly spalshed onto the soon to be birdcage lining.
There are some real nuggets. The transcript of his meeting with Diana, the excitement of the newsroom in the events like the twin towers and the Diana crash, the conversations he has with both parties during the Sven-Ulrika affair, a situation played out very differently in her book. The ongoing attacks on really irritating bastards like Ian Hislop and Jeremy Clarkson that you can’t help chuckling along with him too.
His style and prose is very enjoyable indeed and it certainly gave me the desire to read his second and most recent tome, an update on life since the diaries came out but like the previous work, I find it unbalanced as he seems to skirt much of his own private life and you are left feeling confused when he does touch on it very briefly. As much as I enjoyed the book though and as fascinating some of the access to others he actually gets, you are left feeling whether things are actually true and the whole intolerable smugness the book rides on gets a bit irritating towards the end. Plus, I find it quite disturbing that I have now taken a long intake of the philosophies of all of the judges on America’s Got Talent now. That’s scary.
English Everyone loves a bit of gossip, but not everyone loves Piers Morgan. However, without the nation’s lust for titillation, Morgan would have not become the successful Newspaper Editor he was and TV presenter he is. ‘The Insider’ is a diary of his newspaper years and was released relatively soon after his firing from The Mirror for publishing allegedly false photos of Iraqi prisoners being tortured. The book cover the mid-90s to the mid-00s – from a period of Tory sleaze, to a period of Labour taking the nation to war; with several royal and celebrity mishaps on the way.
‘The Insider’ is a dense book, but one that you don’t want to skip over at all; any of the entries may have a wonderful line, or salacious piece of gossip. For this reason it took me a long time to read, but I enjoyed every minute. It starts off as just a very amusing book as your get a Morgan eye view of the celebrity and political world of the 90s. As the book moves on you get moments of poignancy; Diana’s death, 9/11, Paula Yates etc. By 2002-4 we are heading to war and the book becomes more serious. Having read so much froth beforehand, it was nice that the book added depth towards the end.
What makes ‘The Insider’ so interesting is not only what is on the page, but what is missing. Morgan says that he trawled through his notes of the period, but he must have selected what to share. His choices are telling; in terms of narrative he threads through sad tales of Diana or Paula Yates, but also the wheels of politics. What is missing is also key – the techniques that led to many scoops. It is shocking to read how many celebrities are complicit in their own gossip, but not all of them. Also reading about real people who have also gone on to infamy since 2006 is very intriguing – a few names that would grace the front page of The Mirror have yet to show their colours here.
‘The Insider’ is written in the style that you would expect from Piers Morgan; uncompromising, unapologetic and a bit smug. For this reason it is a very open, extremely well written and fun read.
Sammy Recommendation
English Ok, it’s Piers Morgan mark II. No I am not obsessed with him, I swear. I am just riveted by tales of sleaze and scandal. The Insider, which is Mr Morgan’s memoirs written when he was editing the Daily Mirror provides plenty of sleaze and scandal in akimbo. The auto-bio takes us through momentous occasions in history such as Blair’s election victory, 9/11, the war on Iraq and Princess Diana’s death. There are also not so momentous ones like his interview with Jordan, his spat with Top Gear presenter, Jeremy Clarkson and close shave with the law for purchasing unethical shares. This book is a real page turner what with Pier’s dry observations and his witty one liners. He proves that to be the Editor of the nation’s 2nd best loved newspaper you need to have talent, verve and a lot of front. Oh boy does Piers have some front as he stands up to Tony Blair, his nemesis, Alistair Campbell and his tyrant of a boss/friend Kelvin McKenzie. This book is brilliantly documented and reflects Pier’s relationships with key people like Princess Diana, Sarah Ferguson, The Blairs, Gordon and Sarah Brown, Alistair Campbell and Peter Mandelson so you are presented with a vivid picture of what they are (or were in Diana’s case) like. You get to find out how charming but manipulative Diana could be, why Cherie hated Piers so much, how Mandelson shaped the new-Labour dynasty and how Campbell controlled it and ooooh you even get a glimpse of what the Blairs and Browns really think of each other. This book is so juicy that I think it deserves another read and I never read books twice unless I am really really bored. I wonder how this will tally up to Cherie’s auto-bio that is due out next year? Something tells me it won’t hold a candle to it. English I found this entertaining and interesting to read, until it focused so much on the Iraq war. A lot of this book you may not understand if you don't recognize names of British politicians, celebrities, or Royalty. I downgraded my rating, simply because I think, at times anyway, that Piers is full of shit! Do I believe it was his and only his decision, to not publish the photos of Diana as she lay bleeding and dying from the car crash that ultimately killed her, plus he told the distributor of the photos to recall all that he'd send out, told them it was a mistake, then urged him to take an immediate vacation. I believe he's full of himself and has a massive ego. Perhaps all tabloid editors are that way, but I'd say you have to take his revelations, recollections, memories, etc with a grain of salt. English