A Journey is a 2010 memoir by Tony Blair (pictured) discussing his tenure as leader of the British Labour Party (1994–2007), and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1997–2007). Under Blair's stewardship the party was rebranded as New Labour and secured a party record of three successive terms in office. Two of the book's major themes concern Blair's strained relationship with his Chancellor Gordon Brown, and his controversial decision to participate in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Blair discusses Labour's future after its defeat at the 2010 general election, his relations with the Royal Family, and how he came to respect President George W. Bush. A Journey received mixed reviews; some criticised Blair's writing style, but others called it candid. Financial Times editor Lionel Barber described it as "part psychodrama, part treatise on the frustrations of leadership in a modern democracy". Blair donated his £4.6 million advance, and all subsequent royalties, to the British Armed Forces charity The Royal British Legion. It became the fastest-selling autobiography of all time at the bookstore chain Waterstones, but promotional events were marked by antiwar protests.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Journey
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1782:
Construction began on the Grand Palace of Bangkok, the official residence of the King of Thailand. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Palace
1801:
French Revolutionary Wars: The outmanned and outgunned HMS Speedy captured the 32-gun Spanish frigate El Gamo. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_of_6_May_1801
1882:
U.S. President Chester A. Arthur signed the Chinese Exclusion Act into law, implementing a ban on Chinese immigration to the United States that eventually lasted for over 60 years until the 1943 Magnuson Act. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Exclusion_Act
1937:
The German zeppelin Hindenburg caught fire and was destroyed while trying to land at Lakehurst Naval Air Station in New Jersey, killing over 30 people on board. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LZ_129_Hindenburg
1941:
American entertainer Bob Hope performed the first of his many shows for the United Service Organizations. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Hope
1984:
Pope John Paul II canonized 103 of the Korean Martyrs, who were the subjects of religious persecution against Christians in 19th-century Korea. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Martyrs
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
softly softly: (UK, idiomatic) In a very tactful, careful, or nondisruptive manner. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/softly_softly
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
They called me mad, and I called them mad, and damn them, they outvoted me. --Nathaniel Lee https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nathaniel_Lee
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