Point of Departure

Cook, Robin

ISBN 10: 0743252551 / ISBN 13: 9780743252553

Published by Simon & Schuster, 2003

About this Item

Fine condition.Simon & Schuster,2003.First UK edition-second printing(3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2).Black hardback(gilt lettering to the spine) with Dj(small nick,crease and scratch on the Dj cover),both in fine condition.The book is as new with a small pencil mark impression on the edge of the first page of the book,very small crease on the edge of the pages.368pp including Appendix:Resignation Speech, 17 March 2003.Price un-clipped. This is another paragraph From Publishers Weekly: Cook made headlines last spring as one of those who resigned from Tony Blair's cabinet in protest over the coming Iraq war. There's a lot in this diary of the past two years about his growing feelings against the war, his objections largely based on belief that Saddam didn't have any unconventional weapons and that the links between Saddam and Osama bin Laden were tenuous at best. As Cook puts it, the need for war because Saddam had unconventional weapons might have carried more credibility if both the US and then the British governments had not been together in it up to their armpits in creating that capacity in the first place. Cook also repeats what are now familiar arguments: specifically, that the policy of containment was working, and that nonmilitary intervention would have been more effective. He's generally respectful and polite toward Blair describing him as the most successful Labor leader in recent years but he calls supporting the war the wrong choice for Britain. His are familiar arguments, but Cook expresses them well and offers a dash of much-needed humanism in a polarized world. He also offers a pragmatist's vision for the future intended as a prescription for non-Blair leftists. Unfortunately, he does not follow through enough on the title's promise-the book fails to stick to the point. Cook spends too much time discussing British parliamentary reform, a topic unlikely to find much resonance among American readers. But those interested in what a principled British politician who opposed the war in Iraq has to say about that war will want to take a look.

Seller Inventory # 1870

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Point of Departure
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Publication Date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0743252551
• ISBN 13: 9780743252553
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: First UK edition-second printing.
• Condition: Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: Fine
• Seller catalogs:
  • Biographies & Memoirs

About this title

Synopsis

On 17 March 2003, Robin Cook, Leader of the House of Commons and former Foreign Secretary, resigned from the Cabinet in protest against the coming war in Iraq. His resignation speech prompted the first standing ovation in the history of the House and marked the end of the ministerial career of one of Labour's most brilliant politicians.

For the previous two years, Robin Cook kept a diary, a personal record of the life of Labour's second term, a diary that forms the core of this narrative. "The Point of Departure" is Robin Cook's unvarnished account of this extraordinary period in our political history. Though surprised by his abrupt dismissal as Foreign Secretary, he became determined to effect the changes in Parliamentary democracy that he believed were essential if Parliament was to move into the 21st century. As Tony Blair told him "this is the job for you".

Drawing on first-hand experiences in the Commons and the Cabinet, of encounters in conferences, corridors, and late-night conversations, we follow his gathering disillusionment as the political compass of the government changes to directions which he believes to be profoundly mistaken: from its failure to bring about Lords reform and its unwillingness to provide leadership for social change, to a foreign policy which has led us away from our destiny in Europe, into alliance with the most right-wing government in American history, and participation in Bush's war on Iraq.

This is the story of a government in power and the tensions between those who govern. But above all, it is the story of a politician who genuinely wanted to bring democracy closer to the people, but who saw a government increasingly detached from the value of himself and his party, and who developed a growing conviction that on Iraq, its position was morally, diplomatically and politically wrong. The first inside account of the Blair government from a holder of one of the great offices of State, incisive, interspersed with moments of personal reflection and humour, devastating in its conclusions, "The Poing of Departure" is the most important political publication of the decade.

About the Author

Robin Cook was appointed Leader of the House of Commons and President of the Council in June 2002. He held a number of senior positions in Opposition - Shadow Foreign Secretary, Shadow Trade and Industry Secretary, Shadow Health Secretary and Social Services Secretary - before becoming Foreign Secretary from 1997 until 2001