Tome Time - The Third Man by Peter Mandelson

Started September 6th, finished September 24th.
Now this is a massive read.  It's thick enough but then you realise how small the typeface is. 
It is a book I'm glad I gave the time to though.  It's a fascinating look at modern politics and New Labour.  It's a no holds barred look at both those subjects.  The big surprise was the lack of bitterness and bitchiness.  The book is startlingly fair.  I couldn't quite understand how he could be so fair but maybe the nasty environment of power grabbing they call politics gives you a thick skin.
No one comes out of this book all nice and shiny bur no one is shot down in flames either.  Gordon Brown comes out the worst.  Even more so because Mandelson doesn't attack him personally.  Letting the acts speak for themselves.
Blair and Campbell don't shine all the time.  Blair comes across as weak and Campbell as arrogant and unwilling to listen. 
Mandelson tells an often complicated and dragged out story well.  Some pieces took longer to read than others but I never wanted to put the book down.  I would have liked to hear more about his work as an MP.  That features very little.  leading me to believe that 'career politicians' have a constituency merely to gain a cabinet position.  What benefit that is to those constituencies is worrying.
Another question that raised its head persistently was who pays for all the back room staff?  Next time the Labour party rings me for a donation at election time it will get short thrift.  Politics seems to be about image rather than helping the masses.  Thankfully we have limits on electioneering spending.  So while we may waste considerably less than the US (think what their party spends could do in NASAs budget instead) we still could improve on how party's spend their donations.
I did feel that Mandelson had the urge to better the country and especially it's lower classes.  However I think that is impossible if you also want to have a 'career' in Politics.
This is a fascinating but very long book.  I'd recommend reading it in sections.  Even the chapters were monstrously large.  It would be interesting to read as candid a book as this from his opposite side of the House of Commons.  I fear it would read very much the same though.
Next - Red Shift by Alan Garner