Parting Shots

Matthew Parris

ISBN: 9780670919291
Format: Paperback
Publisher:Penguin Books Ltd

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Combining gems from the archives with despatches obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, this title is a treasure trove of wit, venom and serious analysis. It sheds light on Britain's place in the world, and reveal the curious cocktail of privilege and privation which make up the life of an ambassador.

Up till 2006 a British Ambassador leaving his post was encouraged to write what was known as a valedictory despatch, to be circulated to a small number of influential people in government. This was the parting shot, an opportunity to offer a personal and frank view of the host country, the manners and morals of its people, their institutions, the state of their cooking and their drains. But it was also a chance to let rip at the Foreign Office itself and to look back on a career spent in the service of a sometimes ungrateful nation. Combining gems from the archives with more recent despatches obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, "Parting Shots" is a treasure trove of wit, venom and serious analysis. Astute and often gloriously non-politically, they shed light on Britain's place in the world, and reveal the curious cocktail of privilege and privation which make up the life of an ambassador.

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