I'd say this is a 3.5 star review. As in any political memoir I enjoyed having a bit of a behind-the-scenes view into what Rory Stewart was up to in politics, and (from a personal perspective) his time at the MoJ in particular. That said, I really struggled with the dissonance between the ‘I'm not like the other politicians’ Rory Stewart brand that he tries to get across and the memoir showing him being just like the other politicians.

Surprisingly good memoir. Well-written, well-argued, and occasionally properly self-critical in the way that so many politicians still find hard to understand.

Amazing overview of basically what has gone wrong in British politics over the last few decades alongside a really interesting deep dive in to Rory Stewart’s full political career. I especially enjoyed the chapters around his time in the various departments as a minister.

I also thoroughly enjoyed the constant attacks of Boris Johnson and now understand why Rory holds so much disdain against him.