Just Boris: A Tale of Blond Ambition - Softcover

Sonia Purnell is a writer and journalist known for her investigative skills and lively writing style. She started work at the Economist Intelligence Unit, edited a weekly financial magazine when only 25, and then went on to a senior position on the Daily Telegraph's City pages. It was whilst working in the Telegraph's Brussels bureau in the early Nineties that she first came into close contact with Boris Johnson, then at a turning point in his personal life and working career. After her stint in Brussels, Sonia wrote about government for the Daily Telegraph and then the Daily Mail, where she was Whitehall Editor. She is now freelance and lives in London with her husband and two sons.

'Sonia Purnell's Just Boris is an indispensable examination into the mind, ambitions and deep insecurities of London's mayor; Boris hates it because she dares speak truth to power.' -- Nicholas Lezard Guardian - Best of 2012 'Through fast prose and a vast array of interviews, Purnell ... portrays better than any predecessor the arrogance, opportunism, and irresistible buffoonery of our most celebrated politician.' Independent on Sunday 'If you want the full Johnson experience, do read Sonia Purnell's new biography, Just Boris ... Johnson's supporters have depicted the book as a hatchet job. But actually it struck me as commendably fair' - Andrew Sparrow, UK Political Journalist of the Year Guardian 'Gripping' - Quentin Letts (Book of the Week) Daily Mail 'Future biographers will always be in her debt. Purnell has accumulated a wealth of previously unknown detail' - Andrew Gimson The Spectator 'Filled with gems ... will make uncomfortable reading for Boris' - Camilla Long The Sunday Times 'Thorough study...sharply narrated and dilgently researched.' New Statesman 'Meticulous and quietly devastating' Standpoint 'Meticulously researched and well presented' The Oldie 'Gives good pointers on Johnson's real beliefs as to who should be the [Conservatives'] leader, and on his future relationship with Cameron' - Stephen Hammond MP Total Politics 'Thoroughly researched and well-crafted ... If you want to know who and what Boris is, read Sonia Purnell's book.' Literary Review 'Excellent, relentlessly entertaining biography' Guardian 'Boisterous, widely praised otherwise comprehensive biography' -- Andy Beckett The Guardian 'brilliant' -- Steve Richards The Independent