Who Runs This Place?: The Anatomy of Britain in the 21st Century - Tapa dura

'Britain's anatomy is...illuminated by the unmatched politico-social lucidity of a fine mind...a wonderfully dismaying book' -- Nadine Gordimer, Times Literary Supplement 20041203 'A contemporary history with a strong sense of historical change' -- John Hudson, BBC History 20041203 'A superb diagnosis... enormously readable, containing a wealth of entertaining apercus and digressions... [and] a wit that is as sharp as his scalpel' -- New Statesman 20041203 'An impressive and immediate air of gravitas... Sampson is a clear thinker who manages to gently ease the reader through a vast and complex subject' -- Scotland on Sunday 20041203 'Sampson sees power clearly and calmly, as Trollope or Galsworthy did; and it is not a pretty sight...He comes shrewdly at Mr Blair from an unprotected flank' -- Daily Telegraph 20041203 'This is a wise, perceptive and not unduly pessimistic book' -- The Spectator 20040417 'The best books reveal facts which readers can barely believe that they did not know. Who Runs This Place? contains such revelations in abundance' -- The Observer 20040417 'A coherent critique about the nature of political power in British society' -- The Scotsman 20040403 'An important book, raising an increasingly urgent set of questions about who has the power in Tony Blair's Britain, and for whom they exercise it.' -- The Spokesman manifesto 50 20050301 'Indefatigable... in researching information and marshalling facts' -- The Evening Standard 20040419 'Many shrewd and informative chapters' -- Sunday Telegraph 20040404 'A compelling analysis of power' -- The Times 20040402 'No one has matched Sampson's combination of analysis, networking and sharp drafting ! A model of its kind' -- Times Higher Education Supplement 20040402 'An exhilarating air of authority... [thanks to] its author's happy and unusual combination of wisdom and research' -- Mail on Sunday 20040404 'He has stood back from the trees and given us a view of the wood. He is right to find it rotten' -- Sunday Times 20040403 '[Samspson] comes shrewdly at Mr Blair from an unprotected flank' -- Daily Telegraph 20040403 'Sampson succeeds in providing an exhaustive answer to the question he has set himself in the title' -- The Guardian 20040403 'Brilliantly written and deeply sobering' -- JG Ballard, Guardian 20041204 'Sampson's overview of today's corrupt, nepotistic, celebrity-obsessed Britain makes for fascinating, if depressing, reading' -- Daily Telegraph 20050212 'His lucid prose dissects the new centres of power... A bracing read' -- JG Ballard, Daily Telegraph 20041120 'The leap this books asks us to make -- the comparison between the Britain of 1962 and that of 2004 -- is useful and hugely instructive.' -- guardian 20041120 'This anatomy dissects an old organism still alive and diseased with new secrets' -- The Times 20050219 'Sampson's last book is up there with his best' -- Evening Standard 20050128 'With his finely honed abilities to trace influences and links he unravels the inner workings of the Blairite Establishment with its old-boy network as well as those of modern British corporate life.' -- Contemporary Review 20050401 'Sampson blows away the smoke that obscures British democracy and ...dissects an old organism still alive and diseased with new secrets.' -- The Times 20050219 'Anthony Sampson's Who Runs This Place? Asks New Labour's central question.' -- Observer 20040320

Government power: Attorney-general and Blair crony, Lord Goldsmith, confirms the legality of war in Iraq in the face of convincing counter-arguments. Media power: Politicians resign regularly to satisfy media bloodlust and sales figures, while long-term democratic endeavour is irreparably damaged. Corporate power: FTSE100 fat-cats enjoy salary hikes of 92% over the past 10 years to GBP579,000, while inflation rises only by 25%. Every citadel, from the murky intelligence service to the boardrooms of business moguls, is stormed. The results are remarkable for their uncompromising awareness and penetrating depth. Anthony Sampson's direct access to powerful figures, his decades of power-watching, ensure unprecedented insights into Britain's ruling elites. But, above all, Who Runs This Place? is written for the here and now. When, in the backlash against institutional corruption, the call for accountability is becoming increasingly vocal and heartfelt. Anthony Sampson shows that only by examining who manipulates our lives can we begin to make them answer.