A magnificent book, rich in insight, and beautifully written by a highly literate author. Especially noteworthy for the way it portrays the optimism associated with the Keating years. One of the best political books I've ever read and although long, totally engrossing from start to finish ( )

Says a lot about Don Watson, both intentionally and unintentionally, but very little about its putative subject. Manages to make a colourfully immediate political persona seem distant and etiolated. Avoid, unless you like pretentious prose like the previous two sentences of this review. ( )

This book is sure to be a bonus for future political historians - it is an insider's take on a fascinating and important time in Australian politics. But for this reader, a great fan of Keating and with an interest in the Australian Labor Party, it was hard going; it would probably be near impossible to finish for the average 'non-political' reader. Please do not judge the man by the biography.

This book is simply too long. Which is a shame - there are some real gems, both of prose and insight, in this book, but the reader has to wade through so much to get to them that the journey is just not worth it. The other disappointment with this book is that for something written by a speechwriter, most of the prose is not particularly well written - when Watson does write well it is almost like he is showing off, wondering if the reader will notice his skill.

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