 First edition | |
| Author | Gordon Brown |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Memoir |
| Publisher | The Bodley Head |
Publication date | 7 November 2017 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Pages | 512 |
| ISBN | 9781784707460 |
| ||
|---|---|---|
Shadow Chancellor Chancellor of the Exchequer | ||
My Life, Our Times is amemoir by the formerPrime Minister of the United Kingdom andChancellor of the Exchequer,Gordon Brown. It was published on 7 November 2017 byThe Bodley Head, a subdivision ofRandom House. The book follows the stages in Brown's personal and political life, from his upbringing inScotland to his tenures asChancellor of the Exchequer andPrime Minister, with his own behind-the-scenes account of the2008 financial crisis.
Brown's much-anticipated memoir was published on 7 November 2017. In aWaterstones interview a few days after its launch, journalistRobert Peston put forward the idea thatGordon Brown was in many ways an underrated politician and an underrated Chancellor. Brown was subsequently approached by Waterstones and interviewed, where he explained how he had chosen the right time to write his memoir; "I think this is the right time, seven years on, to explain what you've been doing, how you saw the events at the time, what lessons you learnt and how the past shapes our future." Revelations in the post-release interview included Brown's admiration forNelson Mandela's autobiographyLong Walk to Freedom, and his initial career plan to become a footballer rather than an MP.[1]
My Life, Our Time was reprinted byVintage Books on 24 May 2018.[2] On 3 June, Brown attended an event atCardiff City Stadium to discuss the book, with Labour MPKevin Brennan.[3]
My Life, Our Times received mixed reviews from critics.
Writing inThe Guardian, political journalist and specialist onNew Labour,Andrew Rawnsley, noted the memoir's most riveting moments concerned the2008 financial crisis; "the most valuable chapters here are those that describe how they averted a total implosion of the banking system".[4] The paper praised Brown, saying he was "Miles ahead of anyone you can name currently in office at Westminster. Brown thinks, and thinks profoundly. And by and large, over the last 30 years, what he has thought has turned out to be correct." He went on to say the memoir was "thrilling" and "unexpectedly moving".[5]
TheFinancial Times summarised the book by saying "the former Labour Prime Minister resisted the usual pressures to produce an instant memoir. To the frustration of the casual reader (and perhaps the publisher) he resists the temptation to engage in much gossip either. What Brown does provide is some score-settling, more self-criticism than one might expect, and a sense of deep frustration that his long wait to become prime minister ended with him struggling to cope with the job and seeing his economic legacy come crashing down."[6] Labour MPPeter Mandelson reviewed the memoir in theEvening Standard, also praising Brown's book.[7]
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