Out of the Blue
The Inside Story of the Unexpected Rise and Rapid Fall of Liz Truss
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Out of the Blue
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Narrated by:
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Emily C
About this listen
Liz Truss’s journey from schoolgirl revolutionary to Britain’s shortest-serving Prime Minister
The Sunday Times Politics Book of the Year
A Guardian Politics Book of the Year 2023
‘An insightful and at times riotously entertaining account of the lengthy rise and abrupt fall of Britain’s 56th Prime Minister. What was intended as a prologue to her premiership is now a riveting political obituary in which every page drips with the seeds of both triumph and disaster. Cole and Heale have produced a meticulously reported account of Truss’s drive, impulsiveness, eccentricity and ideological certainty which reads like a warning from history. It has elements of tragedy but is frequently very, very funny.’ Tim Shipman
'Make sure you put your seat belt on. Heale and Cole put you in the passenger seat of the fastest car crash in recent political history. It's an unmissable romp through Liz Truss's long journey to the top, fuelled by ambition and espresso. The clues that foretold the extraordinary catastrophe are all there, as the authors reveal in gory detail how Liz Truss nearly had the last laugh, before finally, as her government imploded, the joke was on her.' Laura Kuenssberg
Despite being written off and mocked by even her closest colleagues, Liz Truss slowly but determinedly achieved her goal of taking over 10 Downing Street – only to instantly plunge her administration into chaos and announce her resignation after a record-breaking 44 days. How did she do it? And what exactly went so wrong?
With unrivalled access and insight, award-winning political journalists Harry Cole and James Heale provide the answers, drawing on interviews with Truss’s friends and supporters, as well as her worst critics and rivals, from Kwasi Kwarteng to Michael Gove.
Tracking Truss’s transformation from geeky teenage Lib Dem to Tory PM, with the inside scoop on her first – and only – month in office, Out of the Blue is the unmissable behind-the-scenes account of Britain’s shortest-serving Prime Minister.
©2022 Harry Cole, James Heale (P)2022 HarperCollins Publishers LimitedListeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
‘Completely absorbing and, in places, astonishing. It is the story of a gigantic error, well told. And important lessons can be learnt.’ Daniel Finkelstein
‘Offers a masterful, behind-the-scenes perspective on a political farce that affected us all’ 4* Telegraph
‘An admirable, thorough and solid body of research’ Times
‘Its lively style and air of authority illuminates [Truss’s] failings … with some wit, insight and a well-informed ear for the telling detail’ Observer
‘An entertainingly written black comedy that reveals much about how we are governed’ The Critic
What listeners say about Out of the Blue
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 27-10-23
Quite slow but gets better
Not very well written, and takes a while to get going, especially in the early chapters. Some good stories during her time in the cabinet and especially deals done in the campaign.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- ashford
- 30-01-23
The Enigma of Liz Truss
One of the strangest chapters in British politics, and one of the strangest politicians too. There was much about Liz Truss that was not good, but there was much that was good too. What can you say? She gambled, and lost. Much more to her than many politicians though. She certainly had a vision of what she wanted for the country. Attractively read by a Liz Truss soundalike.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Babatunde Oyedeji Oyebode
- 03-03-23
Very good indeed
Well researched. Good reading as well. A lot of food for thought indeed. Hope the party has learnt from this.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Mr
- 14-12-22
Long Form Reporting - Really Interesting
Coming so soon after Truss exited Downing Street this is more "reporting" than a detailed history of her brief tenure. The history here is her rise to power and stories of her life and ever changing political views. For me the lesson we learn from this book is that the current class of PR obsessed, career politicians are a disaster for the wider electorate. The hubris, egotism and complete disaster demonstrated by her days in power should be a lesson to us all.
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6 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Louise
- 10-02-23
Highly recommended
What a great read! The final chapters reveal exactly how bad things were - even worse than some of us thought at the time.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Doubtfire
- 16-01-23
How to crash the economy at warp speed
Considering the haste in which this was written, at least it’s concluding chapters it is a compelling account of how one single-minded women shaped by think tanks rose to power, negotiated damaging FTA with Australia, elbowed her way to the top job then crashed the already badly damaged economy that the population will pay for for many years to come.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 17-12-23
Well told if surprisingly uncritical biography
I was not expecting a long read but this book’s shortcoming is it’s failure to examine more clearly the abundant failings of the Truss government - not only it’s policies, but the structure and function (or lack thereof).
Her rise is well told, as is her downfall. Perhaps it is too soon to have expected the book to delve into the details of why and how her premiership was so short lived.
Yet, there’s plenty of time for anonymous staffer and cabinet member briefings. The authors might have proffered - given their experience in political media - more perspective on why they believed it truly went wrong. The inside scoops read more like score settling and are rarely tested for veracity.
Likewise, her earlier steps (or sometimes missteps) are told in a strikingly favourable light. It read how it was likely written: a book designed to puff up her achievements and downplay her faults - but one which had to be hastily readapted for release shortly after her political demise.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Richard Arnold
- 21-02-23
The well told story of our most inept PM
The authors have done a great job producing a well told story of our most inept PM. It's a good thing that the back story of this woman who changes her mind like most folk change their socks, is so interesting, as we follow her move from the left of British politics to the right, heading it seems further right with every utterance. The woman is a shambles, and this book does a great job exposing her, and some of the great stories from the party she sort of led for little over a month in the autumn of last year. Well worth a credit!
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9 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 24-04-24
interesting but not a lot of new information
A good listen to a piece of recent history but it's more or less a run through without much new detail or extra insight.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Patrick Gillan
- 26-04-24
Incredible amount of information squeezed into a turbulent time in our recent history
Interesting insight into the mind of Liz Truss which gave me an understanding into the mindset of this politician. The book express in great detail the chaos of her time leading up to Liz becoming PM
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