DC Confidential

'Blair was pretty determined to go all the way with President Bush not because he's hanging on to this relationship for dear life, but because he truly believed that Saddam Hussein was an offence to the integrity of the UN.' Christopher Meyer was Ambassador to the United States from 1997 to 2003, during which time he was an eyewitness to and participant in the events following 9/11 and the preparations for the Iraq war. Never before has there been such a riveting and candid memoir of life behind the diplomatic scenes. Meyer's is an honest account of what he saw, what he heard and how he felt. The cast list of characters who feature here includes Margaret Thatcher, Bob Hope, the Clintons, Steven Spielberg, Condoleeza Rice, Alastair Campbell and Jack Straw. The book reveals close encounters with Tony Blair, Robin Cook and Peter Mandelson; KGB honey traps in Russia; a major row with Bill Clinton; inside stories on Number 10 and the Foreign Office; and of course life behind the scenes with Blair and George W. Bush. It was clear that the Prime Minister's office and not the Foreign Office would control relations with Washington, and Meyer shows in close up how he helped facilitate the 'special relationship'. For anyone whose definition of a diplomat is someone sent abroad to lie for their country, Christopher Meyer's memoir is the perfect rejoinder. It will also be hailed as one of the most important political memoirs of the decade.