The Gambler - Tom Bower on Boris Johnson | How To Academy

Sat, 17 October 2020

6:30 pm - 7:30 pm GMT

The Gambler – Tom Bower on Boris Johnson

In Conversation with Matthew d’Ancona

Despite his celebrity, decades of media scrutiny, the vitriol of his critics and the adoration of his supporters, there is so much we’ve never understood about Boris Johnson: until now.

From Blair to Branson, Tom Bower’s unvarnished biographies forever changed the way we perceive our leaders. He is unequivocally the most important investigative writer in Britain today: an authority on the lives and works of the most powerful men of our age. Now, in conversation with former Spectator editor Matthew d’Ancona, the legendary biographer turns his attentions to the Prime Minister.

What seismic events of his childhood have evaded scrutiny? How has he so consistently defied the odds, proved his critics wrong, and got away with increasingly reckless gambles? What were his real achievements and failures as Mayor of London, what was really going on during his time as Foreign Secretary, and why did he write two articles for the Telegraph one in favour of Leave and the other for Remain? How have the women in his life exerted more influence than any of us realise, and why is his story ultimately one overshadowed by family secrets?

Based on a wealth of new interviews and research, Bower has produced the deepest, most rounded and most comprehensive portrait to date of the man, the mind, the politics, the affairs, the family of a loner, a lover, a leader.

Join us as he shares for an evening of startling and unsettling insights.

This event takes place at 6:30pm BST and includes access to a replay video available 48 hours after the event to enjoy forever with no time limit.

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Tom Bower

Biographer and one of Britain’s leading investigative writers.

His most recent books include the most authoritative and best selling account of Tony Blair’s decade as prime minister and the definitive biographies of Jeremy Corbyn, Gordon Brown and Geoffrey Robinson MP. His previous book published in 2018, The Rebel Prince the story of Prince Charles’s scandal ridden bid to rehabilitate himself after Princess Diana’s death, was a number one best seller. Bower is probably is best known for his unvarnished and unauthorised biographies of Britain’s most controversial tycoons including Robert Maxwell, Richard Branson, Mohamed Fayed, Tiny Rowland, Bernie Ecclestone and Simon Cowell. His previous books about the failure to denazify post war Germany and the hunt for Nazi war criminals, Anglo American intelligence operations against Russia during the Cold War and corruption in the Premier League won great acclaim.