‘Marr’s writing is persuasive, liberal and energised . . . His grasp of recent politics and economics is superbly authoritative, never better than when discussing our changing relationship with the United States’

Observer

‘Marr excels at brief, droll pen portraits of the major players. His language is vivid and powerful, enlivened with a sparky wit . . . Despite its great size, this is a stimulating and witty account of the forces that made our age by a man who somehow manages to be a well-informed insider without sacrificing the perspective of those outside the Westminster village. It’s written from the perspective of someone who travels around the country, who thinks and who listens’

Scotland on Sunday

‘Richer and deeper than television commentary can ever hope to be. As popular history, it is a lively and enjoyable, as well as a solid, achievement. He is fair and humane in his judgement of men and events’

Daily Mail

‘As in the days when he was the BBC’s chief political editor, it is the clarity of his judgements, the arresting insights and the irrepressible wit that keep us hanging on to his words . . . It is a measure of Marr’s professionalism that his judgements inspire the kind of trust which Tony Blair and his allies squandered through spin and outright lies’

Literary Review

‘Marr is shrewd enough to know that yet another irenic trot through what is in outline an overly familiar story may risk what he himself calls “autistic repetitiveness”. So his invigorating method is to adopt what you might call the Ben Schott approach to history, piling up interesting detail, often through quotation, and hoping, quite correctly, that it will do more work than windy generalisation’

Guardian

‘Marr is, predictably, at his best when discussing politics, with his keen understanding of economic policy and his feel for the Westminster world of ambition, conspiracy and rivalry . . . he excels in providing compelling summaries of leading political figures’

Sunday Telegraph

‘Marr has a gift for narrative and précis, a pithy turn of phrase and an ability to unearth the unfamiliar, and he is passionately engaged with his subject’

The Times