Unleashed By Boris Johnson

Summary

This biography named ‘Unleashed’ by Boris Johnson draws light into his political career specifically his tenure as the prime minister. The main focus is on his handling of the Brexit crisis, the management of the turmoil and the emotionally charged stewardship of power in the UK commonwealth. Johnson’s memoir constitutes a blend of humour, irony, and deep philosophical introspection that allows those interested to see the man behind the headlines and the scandal that surrounded him. This is a self-portrait documentation of how he ascended to the premiership, the challenges he faced while in office and his insights on Brexit.

The main figure which I would dare amuse to associate with and identify throughout the text is, of course, Boris Johnson. He presents himself as a president who, despite looking like a fool and stumbling, is actually a man who cares about his nation’s future and wrestles with its consequences. Johnson, however, is not reluctant to stuck in moments of political and personal loss throughout the story as well as his strained relationship with the media. He struggles with his persona or public personality, especially about being a politician in an era where he and people like him are in the eye of the storm of the volatility of the political climate in the UK.

As expected, Boris Johnson assumes the role of the main subject of the book Although Johnson is the subject of main focus in this book, other well-known personalities who also get significant features portrayed in the book. Specifically, discussion is made of Theresa May, the former Prime Minister, and her resignation, the lack of which was filled by Johnson. Still, there are other characters, all EU leaders depicted as opponents of his policy, including Angela Merkel and Emanuel Macron. Besides these persons there are the prime minister’s most trusted political advisors, including Michael Gove and Dominic Cummings who are mentioned as both supporters and sometimes as insiders’ opponents. The book offers a snapshot of a nation in transition, and Johnson trying to steer it while his political enemies compete for his attention and voices of the nation's change.

The main issue of Unleashed is Brexit, yet it is not as simple as political interactions with the EU. However, it focuses on the tensions that have existed and continue to exist within the UK, the political turbulence which Brexit introduced and Johnson as a man who is to fulfil the promise he was part of. There were always Johnson’s wars throughout his term as the Prime Minister: with the EU, Parliament, and the media on one side, and with his party and team on the other. The question that runs throughout the book is: can Boris Johnson, the self-proclaimed disruptor, ever heal the deeply divided country he is heading? But is he the right man to accomplish the almost politically inconceivable: to lead Britain through its Brexit and into a new era?

Although it is possible to identify several intimate issues in the story, Unleashed is not a typical memoir about Johnson’s life as a businessman; it is the story of a contemporaneous leader who faces many problems. From Johnson’s story, we can see how Brexit changed the Constitution of the United Kingdom, politically and economically devastated the state, and made this once unassuming and awkward journalist and columnist the leader who tried to lead the country’s exit from the EU.

The question that has a profound connection with the show Unleashed is whether Boris Johnson can be the man to steer the UK through its most serious political challenge in the last few decades. Does he have the qualities of a leader capable of steering the country through the storm, or he is also the prisoner of the political epoch, which is characterized by populists, and discontent?

Experience

It was a roller coaster of the whirl that is political life and a glimpse of one of Britain’s most talked about politicians. Johnson is quite outspoken and the book does contain a lot of him; his jokes, albeit somewhat mean, and his attacks on anybody he does not like. When reading this book, I felt sympathy, frustration, or even interest in Johnson’s points of view on the political crisis around him. He made subtle humour around critical, tense circumstances, but I was not surprised at the depth of the philosophical thoughts behind them as well.

The reader is able to see Johnson cry and that aspect of the book is heart-wrenching. Seymour is at his best when he paints a detailed account of his private sorrow which most political autobiographies do not capture. Here I could grasp at least some of the motivations behind his actions, if not completely approve of them. At some point, he seemed to be as fed up with the political system as I have been disappointed with the capabilities of modern governments. This memo depicts Johnson as a man under pressure to force Brexit through despite the dissolution of Parliament.

Towards the end of the chapters, it became easier to see how history bore down on Johnson heavily. He was opening my eyes to the kinds of leadership issues that make people’s heads spin: the endless tension between the self and the nation. It was also good to see that sometimes he reflected when explaining and, for example, admitted that the media can be very invasive, and the public is extremely critical. Other times he seemed overbearing in his arrogance; he easily waved aside the rulings of the courts and the political implications of his decisions. This is one of the most intriguing aspects of the book; what a wonderful contradiction he was. Sometimes he can be philosophical and very perceptive and then he turns around and uses all his rhetoric to ignore the haters.

Just reading Johnson’s accounts of the Brexit negotiations, the wars he had with the EU overseers, and his efforts to influence Parliament toward his ends, was intriguing and exasperating. I can understand compassion towards him when he painted a picture of confusion that pervaded the workplace when this was going on, but Johnson’s part was not completely innocent; he was part of the problem as well as he was grimly perched on the margin of being a solution to the problem. His depiction of his role in ‘taking Britain out of the EU,’ is of a man who simply wants to carry out what a majority of the country voted for regardless of the implications.

Johnson’s life was very teaching for me, especially in terms of power and leadership in periods of crisis. I found his take on the Brexit discussion, especially the Pertinence of the political class in the United Kingdom and their failure to honour the outcomes of the referendum painful but enlightening as it captured power relationships and the general public vigorously. It also offered a view of what Johnson’s Britain was to be, how he intended to recast the nation’s future after engineering its exit from the EU and refashioning its role in the world.

For this reason, though I may have grown impatient with Johnson’s elephantine characterisation at times, Unleashed did justice to the many-faceted trajectory of his political career. It should be noted that Johnson is truly a man who was formed during his lifetime, and if his leadership can be ambiguous, then it is impossible to deny that Johnson is the product of the time when he became a politician. The most memorable aspect, to me, was that virtually all of the tumultuous journey was driven by outside forces – Brexit, media, the public, etc., and his responses to those forces characterized his time as Prime Minister.

Strengths

The proposed game Unleashed possesses some significant advantages. First and by no means is youth and Johnson’s voice as a young writer. Its peculiar, sarcastic undertone almost always with a dose of self-irony makes the books incredibly fun to read. He does not hesitate to speak about mistakes he made, or his partners made, and I like his straightforwardness. His intelligence and the seeming need to accentuate humour present the book as friendly and easy to read in comparison with many formal politico-authored memoirs. This is therefore the point that humour is used as he conducts serious discourse and it is through these comedic instances that the reader can get closest to understanding who Johnson truly was.

One can also say that Johnson gives quite a detailed account of British politics and its process, making it more of a strength rather than a weakness. He guides readers through the process of Brexit, the negotiations with the EU, relationships within his party, and pressures by the public and media. Such information provides a useful background of the politics that defined his presidency. Johnson’s firsthand account of his interactions with European leaders such as Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron is enlightening as to the high-stakes nature, and complex negotiations, of the Brexit deal.

Another positive aspect is that Johnson also shared his leadership failures with readers. His thinking, as detected in the pressures of office, inta-party struggle and sometimes self-doubt is utterly humane. The book does not try to show him as a great leader; instead, it seeks to show a warts-and-all portrayal of a man who wanted to do his best for his country at a time when his country could scarcely have been at a lower ebb in the modern era. It also makes the story more genuine than some political books which only give an account of the accomplishments of such a person.

Weaknesses

Thus, despite its entertaining and informative content, it is essential to point out certain distinctive features of Unleashed. The major criticism one can diagnose with the book is the exaggerated amount of emphasis placed on Johnson’s view. Sometimes his portrayal of the happenings sounds a bit prejudiced given that this is a memoir meant to tell the story of a man. Johnson talks a lot about his decisions, especially regarding Brexit, while there are moments that seem like the human side of Johnson we also get to see the prime minister's defensive side and there are instances where his decision-making seems forced and argumentative. This is not always a bad thing, but can sometimes give the book a slightly partisan air, less a view from the afterlife of history, and more a bid for a specific public reimagining of his leadership.

The weakness is that there was not enough criticism of Johnson’s own policies. On the one hand, he narrows all the mistakes, thus he admits all the weaknesses, but on the other hand, he has almost no critical insights regarding the long-term effects of his actions. For instance, he interprets Brexit mostly in a way that trivialises the struggles experienced there, especially in view of the economic consequences of the decision as well as social segregation. This book could have usefully engaged in a more differentiated analysis of the extent and character of the Brexit process to investigate and explain the processes at work in the long-term build-up to the vote to leave the EU, its immediate and lasting ramifications for different sections of the British population, for working-class constituencies, and other marginalised groups in particular.

Furthermore, Johnson could be accused of misrepresenting political opponents he does not like through either aggressive or dismissive tones. That of course, corresponds to his larger-than-life persona but now and then it feels like he is doing the book simply to get even with some of his perceived enemies as far as Corbyn or the media is concerned. Some of this may blunt the impact of other intentional operations in the book and it can be difficult to take some of his complaints with a grain of salt.

Final Thoughts

All in all, Unleashed may be dubbed an inspiring and provoking memoir telling the story of the most dramatic epoch in one’s political life-based in one of the most interesting countries in the world. Johnson’s politics aside, his autobiography is light, peppered with jokes about himself and frank in discussions of his time as a prime minister. Despite the flaws it does have, such as being overly pro-Sanders and not offering any introspection on any perceived flaws, the book is all the same a helpful look into the man who was PM when Britain left the EU.

To understand what can be called Brexit and other political processes in Great Britain, as well as to read about the life of the contemporary political leader, Unleashed is a must-have book. That’s not only political but personal; he is mainly concerned with the pressure he exerted to make some decisions that affected the future of the United Kingdom.

My Recommendation

If you enjoyed Unleashed, you might also find Out: How Brexit Got Done and the Tories Were Undone by Tim Shipman interesting, as it provides a detailed account of the Brexit saga. The Impossible Office?: The History of the British Prime Minister by Anthony Seldon is another great read for those interested in political biographies, offering a broader perspective on Johnson’s leadership. For a deeper dive into the politics of the UK, This Is London by Ben Judah explores the socio-political landscape of the capital, while Brexit: What the Hell Happens Now? by Ian Dunt provides a more critical look at the impact of Brexit on the country.

If you are done with Unleashed, you might decide to learn more about Brexit’s effects on the UK and global society. You might also consider looking at works that discuss the evolution of populism politics, through which Johnson so spectacularly ascended to power. Whether you like his politics or not, you will find it a valuable glimpse into the mind of a man who will undoubtedly continue to shape the world long after this book.

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