Book review: Piers Morgan - The Insider: The Private Diaries of a Scandolous Decade.

I often read tabloid newspapers in an attempt to catch up on ‘juicy’ gossip. Seeing as Piers Morgan has been the editor of two tabloid newspapers, The News of The World and the Daily Mirror, I felt intrigued to read his biography ‘The Insider.’ I am aware that Morgan is a cocky man hence his fantastic journalistic skills and success as an executive. Taking this into perspective, I was left unsure as to whether or not I would enjoy his biography but as soon as I started reading I found myself barely wanting to put the book down.

The book is written in the form of a diary which makes it a fast an exciting read. With every flick of a page you feel like you’re taking a journey, a journey of a fascinating man’s life interspersed with both highs and lows. ‘The Insider’ describes the major events of 1994 to 2004. This includes the elections of the first government, the death of Diana Princess of Wales and 9/11. By writing about such important proceedings that have affected the world majorly, alongside writing about less important events such as the naked man who landed on the roof of Buckingham Palace, Morgan portrays just how difficult it is to make a success out of choosing and editing the most relevant and interesting aspects of particular stories. I like his way of thinking throughout the biography as it shows the reader what he was thinking at the time rather than how he sees things with the benefit of hindsight. However, Piers would have had to go back and edit his ‘diary’ like notes to make ‘The Insider’ as successful as it is which made me feel that the exciting journeys he takes us on throughout may be a little exaggerated. On the other hand though, Piers Morgan does portray the truth about himself suggesting that he is not proud of some of the things he did as a young editor (aged 28) quoting that he was a lucky young man “who rode his luck until his luck finally ran out.”

‘The Insider’ is full of wittiness which appealed to my sense of humour thus making it an even better read. Piers, unlike other executives, does not shy away from exposing people who he believes have done wrong. A prime example of this in the book is his honest opinion of Tony Blaire which left me thinking a lot less of him as a Prime Minister. A better example perhaps is Morgan’s opinion on Rupert Murdoch. It annoyed me, as it annoyed Piers, to think that he has so much power in this country despite being no form of an elected representative.

Overall I was impressed with ‘The Insider.’ It left me with a more optimistic view towards Piers Morgan as a person, I previously thought that he would be a stereotypical journalist and portray an opinion of him being correct in everything he has done, however I was proved wrong on various occasions when he admitted to his mistakes and drew away from his own private life, hinting to me that it wasn’t such a great success. I would recommend this book to others if they were looking for a fast, honest and laugh out loud funny read.

Book referencing:

Paperback 496 pages

Published September 8^th 2005

Publisher: Ebury Press