THE TRUTH THAT STICKS: NEW LABOUR'S BREACH OF TRUST by Martin Bell is published in hardback by Icon Books £16.99. Available now.
Martin Bell's brilliant book, The Truth That Sticks, should be made compulsory reading for Tony Blair, most members of his Cabinet and all his associates and cronies, particularly those involved in the decision to invade Iraq.
I should be surprised if any one of them is capable of reading this book without shuddering at their actions and feeling stabbing pains from their own consciences.
Mr Bell has been on both sides of the fence: a war reporter for the BBC and a Member of Parliament. He knows the military and he knows the politicians. He takes no prisoners.
His description of the run-up to the Iraq war, the deceit, half-truths, downright lies and impenetrable smokescreens, is a devastating
indictment of the Government. It was, he says, "the worst miscalculation by any British government in memory".
The unadorned language which tells this story - and other unsavoury issues, including cash for peerages merely serves to heighten what some have described as "the chicanery" of what went on.
Fifty years ago, MPs regarded the job as a vocation, living on a minimum wage, virtually no expenses and encouraged to maintain their outside work.
Now they are highly paid with astronomical expenses and are virtually cut off from the outside world.
The House of Commons, he said, is now in a sad state of disrepair - and he does not mean the bricks and mortar. "The democracy we practise is so imperfect that there should be another name for it - elected autocracy, perhaps"
Mr Bell also deals with the fate of Elizabeth Filkin, a lawyer who examined complaints against MPs. Her problem was that she did her job too well and was removed from her post for that reason.That, he said, was "a disgraceful episode which did untold damage to the
reputation of Parliament such as it was".
The expression "such as it was" eloquently exposes the way Parliament has, in Mr Bell's opinion - and in the opinion of many others -
degenerated over the last half-century or so.
Only recently, one MP was caught misappropriating some £90,000 of public money. Had it been anybody but an MP, he would have been sent to prison for a number of years.
And the account of the sexed-up dossier, the 45-minute warning, the death of Dr Kelly, the vain search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq (of which there were none, and yet that was the reason for going to war) will make your hair stand on end.
Obfuscation, falsehoods and promotions and honours for those deeply involved in this shameful affair (which has cost thousands of lives) make England - the so-called mother of Parliaments - resemble a tin-pot central American banana republic. It is all described with insight and authority, but without melodrama which ironically, makes it all the more
dramatic.
Lord Montgomery said this: "War is a rough game but I think politics is worse." Few people would quarrel with that sentiment after reading this compelling and damning book.
[CHRIS MONCRIEFF]
KEEP SMILING by Charlotte Church, published in hardback by Orion Books, priced £18.99. Available now.
Many know Charlotte Church as a child protege with a voice of an angel, whose personality and innocent charm eventually became spoilt by booze, cigarettes, foul language and chavvy boyfriends.
But now Charlotte seems to have it all and has settled down with Welsh rugby hero Gavin Henson to look after their newborn baby daughter Ruby Megan Henson. But isn't she still a crude lager lout?
Charlotte was meeting Hollywood stars and singers as routine, and lifts the lid on the most memorable encounters - both positive and negative
I'm ashamed to say this is the vision of Charlotte I had before reading this book. I would never have bought it in a shop, and was cringing while opening the pink cover, but straight away she had me hooked, shooting straight from the hip with such a no-nonsense approach to her life and the tale of her projection to stardom at the age of 12.
She tells candidly of how the press hailed her as a young girl, praising her every move as she travelled around the world cracking the market in Europe, Japan and America. She devotes most of the pages to her younger days, where like most people her family and close friends play a major role in her upbringing.
But that's where the similarities with the average person end, and Charlotte had to learn how to balance her schooling with world tours and one-off events. She was meeting Hollywood stars and singers as routine,
and lifts the lid on the most memorable encounters - both positive and negative.
Charlotte holds no opinions back, which makes the book so readable, but at just 21 she comes across as slightly arrogant and condescending at points, suggesting legends Tom Jones and Tony Bennett are too old to sing and should retire.
As she matured, Charlotte tells of how she wanted to discover who she is, and to simply have a good time like a normal teenager. But Charlotte is not normal, and the press following her every move suddenly changed their attitude towards her, reporting most incidents in a bad light.
She admits to some bad behaviour, but claims most negative press cuttings were set up, and the hideous images of her being sick and falling over were manipulated. She also tells of the hurt and pain caused when her nearest and dearest sell stories, or when her personal family life is strewn across the centre pages.
Charlotte ends the book in the present, with just one chapter on her pregnancy and life alongside Gavin Henson, but this seems a natural conclusion. At 21, she doesn't seem like she could possibly have that much to say, but life before Gavin made her the person she wants to be: a good mother who is successful and doesn't swear.
[CAROLINE DAVIDSON]
THE UNCOMMON READER by Alan Bennett, published in hardback by Profile Books, priced £10.99. Available Now.
While out walking her dogs, an elderly lady comes across a mobile library and decides to borrow a book - finally plumping for a novel by Ivy Compton-Burnett, no less.
But this is no ordinary old dear, it's an 80-year-old usually addressed as "Her Majesty".
After such works as Talking Heads and The History Boys, he could well be crowned the king of quirkiness, but author Alan Bennett has surpassed himself with this neat little novel, which follows the Queen as her love of reading is reawakened... much to the disgust of her senior staff.
The corgis are sadly neglected as she immerses herself in everything from Thomas Hardy to Anita Brookner, state visits are curtailed as she rushes back to devour another chapter of Samuel Beckett, and royal watchers are devastated to see their heroine wearing the same brooch and outfit three days in a row because her sense of style has been undermined by her incessant page-turning.
But is she really doing anyone any harm? Her equerries believe so, and conspire to put an end to the Queen's latest hobby. But after more than 50 years on the throne, she is not about to bow to pressure from a bunch of mere employees.
There are hilarious moments, like when Her Majesty invites a load of authors around for tea, and is bored rigid by them, and I loved the grumpy one-liners from the Duke of Edinburgh. The final twist also had me laughing out loud.
They say great things come in small packages... And at just 124 pages long, The Uncommon Reader is certainly proof of that.
[SANDRA MANGAN]
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