| Product: |
Don't You Know Who I Am? - Piers Morgan |
| Date: |
16/11/07 (131 review reads) |
| Rating: |
 |
Advantages: Funy and connected
Disadvantages: Not as good as the first book
Create the hype but don't ever believe it.
So, if you're the latest media type forced to fall on your moral sword over trying to report the truth of the scandalous war in Iraq (Morgan sacked by the Mirror Group who had shares in an arms company), what would Britain's youngest ever tabloid editor do next, apart from the usual TV cameos and newspaper columns. Being Britain's most hated journalist meant opportunities would be few and far between. The answer, of course, was to write a brilliant book, The Insider, an editor's account of what it was like to have the ear of the rich and famous and how to transpose that valuable gossip and cheap scandal into tabloid format, but keep the right people onside by slagging off the peasants. It's a superb read and fascinating stuff, the gap between the story and the gossip revealed in intriguing detail. I mean, what are these famous people like? We only know them from the tabloid tales. What an amazing job it would be to edit a national newspaper. But one day you burn all your bridges (like the Americans did with Iraq's river crossings so Halliburton could rebuild them all for ten times as much) and so you have to go. Saddam outlived his usefulness to the west when he was weak and so did Piers Morgan. Not that I'm comparing the two, mind.
So if literature was the chosen career how about bringing his diary up to date and completing the journey up his own ass by writing a book about his attempt to become a celebrity, the very people Morgan claims to despise and his newspapers slaughtered over the years. Irony is not the word-hypocrisy probably is. But what ever you might think of the guy he certainly has friends in high places and knows the people you want to know more about and so his books are inevitably intoxicating reads. Any friend of Simon Cowell is going to go places and no the right gossip. He even makes-up with Jeremy Clarkson by the end of the book, the man who attacked Piers on Concord with a barrage of punches and right hooks, the redeeming qualities of joining the exclusive celeb club.
Morgan begins the tome by laying into the Blair's and their part in his downfall. Clearly if you go against an establishment war you're going to be eventually shafted, especially if your paper is supposed to be backing the centre-left government of the day. Morgan may talk up his access with important people in his books a little too much but he was certainly on New Labors speed dial.
After slagging New Labour off to the build up to the war, his downfall was assured soon after, those infamous photos clearly fakes, but in hindsight a decent metaphor for what was going on out there. Piers gleefully reminds us the people who were caught for taking them were serving soldiers and were latterly-and rather suspiciously-let off. Could the pics have been planted on our Piers to get him fired for not getting his paper behind the war? You get the distinct impression that's what Morgan feels. We know with the DeMenzies shooting that sometimes no one is accountable for terrible things when theres a greater evil being pursued. I suspect the momentum and his ego ran away with him with the photos and he just printed them without that thought in his mind. Lie I said, sometimes you have out lived your career and its time to move on.
The contents...
The book is yet again in diary format, Piers account of trying to become a proper celebrity (what ever that means) to pay the bills. After turning down offers like I'm A Celebrity, a program purely there to wave to sad celebs on the way down, not up, Piers wanted to avoid that level of notoriety. After Calum Best failed to spell the word 'celebrity' on Celebrity Love Island, Piers felt he had more to offer the world than being another member of the Z-List, bulging more than our prisons these days.
It was a political debate show on Channel Four with Amanda Platell that would meet the sizeable mortgage payments. Crossfire, co-hosted with the ballsy feminist, was a serious Saturday tea-time show that was going up against X-Factor and Strictly Come Dancing, an alternate to the tradional variety on offer.
A guest stint on This Morning got him into the grove of live TV; co hosting the royal wedding commentary of Charles and Camilla with Sofia Rayworth a more jolly experience the following month. Piers failed to spot Prince Harry goose-stepping behind the entourage. I remember seeing that at the time and staring in amazement. A more solid job offer was a features writer for GQ magazine, as was the lucrative after dinner speaking tour a good earner. He also manages to finish last on Celebrity Weakest Link for media types, a huge roar from the audience when he was voted off. Berating C-Listers for 13 years in his redtops meant it would be a long time before he was welcomed into the club.
As real news events were happening at the time of writing his book Piers takes the opportunity to comment, his previous experience of these people and events worthy of his comment. As much of an arrogant tit Piers looks on TV he is very articulate and intelligent and knows the gray area runs the world and has an inside slant on it. With a brother fighting in Basra for Blair's illegal war that painful issue is more than prominent throughout this book. His remarkably mature children-both under 13-also feature heavily. So does his love affair with a beautiful columnist from the Daily Telegraph.
It would be the mercurial Simon Cowell that would make Piers name, signing him up for NBCs then number one show, 'Americas Got Talent', alongside David Hasslehoff and someone called Brandy. This American adventure features heavily in the second half of the book, as does the 'Hoff', a man who loved himself more than Piers did. A rare feat indeed!
-Any good-
I thought the Insider was a brilliant read and this, although not quite as good, is still enjoyable. If you bought the former then buy the later, I say. Morgan knows how the world works and with our infatuation with the rich and famous means we want to know more. Piers has access to that world and is telling all. However much celebrities whinge about being in the papers they can't live without tabloid coverage, hence ten of them willing to eat bugs in the jungle this week to stay in the limelight. It's a drug and they like to OD. Piers may not like to hear it but he is one of those vain toads now, just like those people he despised, and the softening opinion on those people he calls celebrity as he tries to join the club, completing that journey up his own rectum. He may not want to appear on I'm A Celebrity... because he feels above it, but I guarantee you he will when Simon Cowell no longer calls and Ian Hislop hates him even more.
Summary: Everyone has a book in them!
|
|
