The Powerful and the Damned: Private Diaries in Turbulent Times
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- Create Date：2021-11-22 07:50:56
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Lionel Barber
- ISBN：0753558203
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Summary
'Extraordinary' TONY BLAIR
'Riveting' - PHILIPPE SANDS
'Brutal， brilliant and scurrilously funny' - MISHA GLENNY
The real scoop isn't on the front page
'As FT editor， I was a privileged interlocutor to people in power around the world， each offering unique insights into high-level decision-making and political calculation， often in moments of crisis。 These diaries offer snapshots of leadership in an age of upheaval。。。'
Lionel Barber was Editor of the Financial Times for the tech boom， the global financial crisis， the rise of China， Brexit， and mainstream media's fight for survival in the age of fake news。
In this unparalleled， no-holds-barred diary of life behind the headlines， he reveals the private meetings and exchanges with political leaders on the eve of referendums， the conversations with billionaire bankers facing economic meltdown， exchanges with Silicon Valley tech gurus and pleas from foreign emissaries desperate for inside knowledge， all against the backdrop of a wildly shifting media landscape。
The result is a fascinating - and at times scathing - portrait of power in our modern age; who has it， what it takes and what drives the men and women with the world at their feet。 Featuring close encounters with Trump， Cameron， Blair， Putin， Merkel and Mohammed Bin Salman and many more， this is a rare portrait of the people who continue to shape our world and who quite literally， make the news。
Reviews
Nanthinee Jevanandam
，
Its just a compilation of exchanges with a story built around it。。。。Also the title is misleading， I thought it would have been more about insider information。
Maksim Karliuk
，
Well written book by the Financial Times long-serving editor （2005-2020） Lionel Barber。 Reads like a global political history of these years with lots of insights。One thing I was surprised about is his assessment towards the end of the book of South Korea as ‘leaning to authoritarian democracy’。 It is strange given its stellar track record of moving from the authoritarian regime to a vibrant democracy where no president is immune from public scrutiny and eventual convictions。
Ali Galan
，
Good start， however， I got bored 250 pages in。。。Would recommend if you are interested in seeing what a day in the life of an editor at Financial Times look like。
Will
，
Not a bad way to get a summary of recent history （2005-2020）。 Barber can at times be a little too heavy on name dropping and a little too correct on hindsight， but he has a writing style that made me want to keep reading。
benjamin richardson
，
Only partway through but an entertaining mix of history of globalisation 2005-2020 through character sketches of the key personalities and interwoven with Barber’s quest to renew the FT amongst move to online， competition in media and the tectonic shifts in politics and society。
Nilufer Gunes
，
Almost feels like a run through of events in the last decade from the eyes of the Financial Times editor。 It presents an inside view of the meetings between the powerful and the unfolding of events in the media。
Anne
，
I bought the book because of the title which turned out to be quite misleading。 The book is not a compilation of private diaries or correspondence of the various named icons in the blurb。 Nevertheless， it was still an interesting read， looking into the influential and political life of the Financial Times editor。 The style of writing is engaging which is expected from a leader in publishing。
Jati Hidayat
，
As a media person and a FT reader I find this book a thrilling read。 Lionel Barber writes candidly and clearly including on his mistakes and regrets， notably under estimating the Leave campaign during the Brexit saga。 This book is especially rewarding when Barber tells the story when his job requires him to publish unsparing pieces on people he was close to either personally or professionally like former PM Tony Blair and WPP boss Martin Sorrel。 Barber's shop talk about the sale of FT from Pears As a media person and a FT reader I find this book a thrilling read。 Lionel Barber writes candidly and clearly including on his mistakes and regrets， notably under estimating the Leave campaign during the Brexit saga。 This book is especially rewarding when Barber tells the story when his job requires him to publish unsparing pieces on people he was close to either personally or professionally like former PM Tony Blair and WPP boss Martin Sorrel。 Barber's shop talk about the sale of FT from Pearson to Nikkei is also fascinating as well as the general disruptive challenges facing the media/news business。 The main takeaway is that never stray fromeditorial excellence。 。。。more
Vinod Ravi
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Succinctly captures the changes in political and economic zeitgeist internationally between 2005 and 2020。 Very interesting read。
Ben
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There are a few interesting stories here， but it is hard to get past the narrator。 Barber is nearly insufferable—arrogant， clubby， never wrong （even in hindsight）。 While he obviously enjoys namedropping， he does seem to be incredibly， even inspirationally， well networked。 His most important job qualification seems to be that he knows everybody （or at least every man） who is anybody。 It's not a pretty world that Barber shows us， but it is a very different one。 > A chatty Scottish chauffeur picks There are a few interesting stories here， but it is hard to get past the narrator。 Barber is nearly insufferable—arrogant， clubby， never wrong （even in hindsight）。 While he obviously enjoys namedropping， he does seem to be incredibly， even inspirationally， well networked。 His most important job qualification seems to be that he knows everybody （or at least every man） who is anybody。 It's not a pretty world that Barber shows us， but it is a very different one。 > A chatty Scottish chauffeur picks me up at Glasgow airport but is soon lost for words as we drive aimlessly around the 2，000 acres of grounds around Dumfries House。 He ends up dumping me at the wrong door of the mansion， where I am greeted by a friendly Scottish woman servant: ‘Good morning， Sir， are you here for the squirrel symposium？’ ‘No， I am not here for the squirrels，’ I reply， ‘I’m here to see Prince Charles。’ 。。。more
Andrew Schirmer
，
You could do worse getting a decent summary of 2005 - 2020 than to read this。 Odd title， in a way--clickbait-y with its implicit promise of high-level gossip （If you're a regular FT reader， there's not much you won't already know）。 The Age of Turbulence would better describe Barber's tenure at the helm of the FT through two decades of financial crises and populist revolt than Greenspan's memoir/free market apologia。 Despite the FT's avowed stance on objectivity （much ballyhooed by Barber， here） You could do worse getting a decent summary of 2005 - 2020 than to read this。 Odd title， in a way--clickbait-y with its implicit promise of high-level gossip （If you're a regular FT reader， there's not much you won't already know）。 The Age of Turbulence would better describe Barber's tenure at the helm of the FT through two decades of financial crises and populist revolt than Greenspan's memoir/free market apologia。 Despite the FT's avowed stance on objectivity （much ballyhooed by Barber， here） the proximity to power--unavoidable due to necessity of source material--and occasional accommodation on display here is extraordinary。 Descriptions of global backrooms and names that pop up with easy familiarity are a populist's fever dream。 And there is the elite feedback loop which， as Barber admits， caused the global establishment and the FT to miss the rise of populism and other trends。 Still， Barber acquits himself well: he picked his battles wisely， built on the FT's reputation， and made it a great paper for the 21st century。 I subscribed to the FT years ago after reading an interview with Noam Chomsky where he stated that paper "。。。is the only global newspaper “that tells the truth”。' This can occasionally be qualified， but generally remains true。 。。。more
Ben Fawkes
，
Excellent- while Barber can be a little full of himself and occasionally self-righteous， this is a fascinating account of the key events if the last 15 years as they developed。Highly recommended for anyone interested in current affairs and newspapers。
Claire Harrop
，
Interesting premise but a bit slow in parts and quite a lot of name-dropping， as one might expect。
Satish Antony
，
Brings a human side to the view of global statesmen; a behind the scenes look at how contemporary politicians and businessmen operate。 Appreciated the humorous angle too。 Ultimately though， this book is too much like a soapie: doesn't really have a defined beginning or memorable conclusion。3/5 stars Brings a human side to the view of global statesmen; a behind the scenes look at how contemporary politicians and businessmen operate。 Appreciated the humorous angle too。 Ultimately though， this book is too much like a soapie: doesn't really have a defined beginning or memorable conclusion。3/5 stars 。。。more
Pepijn van Dijk
，
De hoofdredacteur van de Financial Times heeft zijn ‘private diaries’ gepubliceerd。 Daarin lezen we dat de FT baas iedereen kent， van Wall Street CEO’s， tot Londense politici， van zangers tot de paus。 En allemaal ‘on a first name basis’。 Een zekere mate van ‘sucking up to power’ is soms noodzakelijk om goede journalisitiek te bedrijven， maar ik kreeg de indruk dat Barber erg geniet van zijn omgang met de rijken en machtigen。Had graag meer gelezen over hoe Barber van het FT een echt wereldmerk he De hoofdredacteur van de Financial Times heeft zijn ‘private diaries’ gepubliceerd。 Daarin lezen we dat de FT baas iedereen kent， van Wall Street CEO’s， tot Londense politici， van zangers tot de paus。 En allemaal ‘on a first name basis’。 Een zekere mate van ‘sucking up to power’ is soms noodzakelijk om goede journalisitiek te bedrijven， maar ik kreeg de indruk dat Barber erg geniet van zijn omgang met de rijken en machtigen。Had graag meer gelezen over hoe Barber van het FT een echt wereldmerk heeft gemaakt， en als een van de weinige kranten succesvol de transitie naar digitaal heeft weten te maken。 Dat is namelijk de echte prestatie， met alle respect voor theedrinken met Mario （Draghi）， bellen met Lloyd （Blankfein） en even langs wippen bij Tony （Blair）。 。。。more
Charlotta Liukas
，
Financial Times’ editor from 2005 to 2020， Barbers diary is witty and present （and a little arrogant）。 The focus is on the politicians and businessmen （yes， I cant recall a single female private sector rep mentioned in detail） he met and interviewed， though I wouldve loved to learn more about the workings of the newspaper， digital transformation and FT’s sale to a new Japanese owner。
Harold Talbot-Tomlinson
，
Offers some interesting anecdotes and insights into the global establishment， but rather underwhelming considering the stories you’d assume someone in such a high powered position would have to tell。
Simon Torring
，
Very easily digestible in diary format。 Lots of fun， quirky anecdotes about big profiles from business， politics， etc。 I only got a bit impatient around two topics; the Leveson inquiry and UK politics more generally。 But totally understandable why those two topics would need space。
Graham
，
The narrative of this book hums along at a giddying pace。 It is well written， well thought out and very troubling。 The trouble is what it reveals between the lines。 For here we have a first hand account of how the very privileged and the very powerful live， and it is a disturbing picture。 Day after day the author is chauffeur-driven to his office or to an airport where he jets off to meetings with leading politicians， financiers and movers and shakers。 The small circle of the powerful is shown i The narrative of this book hums along at a giddying pace。 It is well written， well thought out and very troubling。 The trouble is what it reveals between the lines。 For here we have a first hand account of how the very privileged and the very powerful live， and it is a disturbing picture。 Day after day the author is chauffeur-driven to his office or to an airport where he jets off to meetings with leading politicians， financiers and movers and shakers。 The small circle of the powerful is shown in detail and the cosiness of it all is striking。 Mr Barber hops from lunches to dinners and mixes with others whose lives are similar to his own。 Power separates them from the rest of us and skews their idea of what 'normal' life is like。 All of us， perhaps， have a skewed vision and it is arguable that there is no such thing as 'normal life' but some visions are more skewed than others and some lives have less in common with the ordinary than others。 When prime ministers， leading politicians， newspaper editors and others allow themselves to become coccooned and removed from any semblance of ordinary life we are all in trouble for the following reasons， among others:-1） It creates space for populists to draw attention to the detachment of the powerful and to stir up anger and alienation in the population at large， even inciting violence （see for e。g。 Trump）;2） When policy-makers and those who influence them have a distorted idea of reality it leads to bad policy and resentment。 Being cocooned with others who share the same blind spots and who reinforce confirmation bias heightens this danger;3） A sense of entitlement and a condescension towards those outside the group gradually grow， leading to further detachment and distortion。 A vicious circle is established。 （Tell-tale signs of this are the author's irritation if he is kept waiting for a meeting and his tendency to record when others fail to pay him due deference。 ）It is not that the author is a bad man。 He comes across as decent and honest。 It is that he is part of a small club which has disproportionate influence and power over the rest of us and that club is not accountable to anyone。 Humility is conspicuous by its absence in the pages of this book。 。。。more
Susan Williams
，
Fantastic book。 Covers every important event over the last few decades， include the revival of the Financial Times。 Gold standard。
Neill Hunt
，
A progressive EU fanatic converts his diary of impressive hobnobbing into a series of tweets in book form。 Condescending and not especially insightful。
Dominic Cowell
，
How else to describe this。。。 an excellent middle-class gossip book？！Over the period of 14 years， Barber has had fascinating interactions with world and business leaders， from Putin to Zuckerberg， through to MBS to Blair， Cameron and Trump。 Interesting tales of those at the heart of our global powers。 A particular favourite was， we're told， a reflection from Obama on Blair， Brown and Cameron。 Blair = substance and sizzle。 Brown = substance。 Cameron = sizzle。 A damning report！ How else to describe this。。。 an excellent middle-class gossip book？！Over the period of 14 years， Barber has had fascinating interactions with world and business leaders， from Putin to Zuckerberg， through to MBS to Blair， Cameron and Trump。 Interesting tales of those at the heart of our global powers。 A particular favourite was， we're told， a reflection from Obama on Blair， Brown and Cameron。 Blair = substance and sizzle。 Brown = substance。 Cameron = sizzle。 A damning report！ 。。。more
Michael Suire
，
Highly recommended to people interested in journalism， politics， and business。 Barber shows through interviews and anecdotes the opinions and thoughts of different political and economic figures on many subjects spanning over 15 years。
Richard Newton
，
I enjoyed this book， although not my normal subject matter。 It is the memoirs of the editor of the Financial Times。 A combination of memoirs of journalism， the business of running a paper and meeting the great and the good （or as he puts it the powerful and the damned）。 Well written and interesting。 I'd like to pick up on one aspect of his writing。 The author makes clever use of the present tense， to give past events an immediacy and connection that the past tense does not achieve - balanced wit I enjoyed this book， although not my normal subject matter。 It is the memoirs of the editor of the Financial Times。 A combination of memoirs of journalism， the business of running a paper and meeting the great and the good （or as he puts it the powerful and the damned）。 Well written and interesting。 I'd like to pick up on one aspect of his writing。 The author makes clever use of the present tense， to give past events an immediacy and connection that the past tense does not achieve - balanced with reflections on those events in the past tense。 This may be his first book， but there is no doubt he can write in long form just as well as the relatively short form of journalism。It was given to me by a friend - and its not my normal material because I never really read newspapers on any regular basis。 I know hardly anyone who does now， bar a couple of friends and one relative。 Newspapers somehow seem increasingly like an artefact from a bygone era。 However， as I learnt from this， this may be a misconception on my behalf as the FT has far more online subscribers （and I mean paying customers not just users）， than it does for the print version。 I don't read newspapers mostly because I don't find them that interesting - the articles are too short for my tastes， and I am not an avid follower of current affairs。 The only time I tend to enjoy reading papers is reading over someone else's shoulder when they seem bizarrely attractive and interesting。 I am usually disappointed when I get hold of the paper and read the real article that seemed so enticing from a distance。 What did I learn from this book？ I understand the role and work of an editor a bit more。 I learned how much more of an international paper the FT is than I realised， as a large proportion of its readership is not based in the UK。 And with these readers it seems to be regarded as an important and influential paper。 I cannot imagine people like Putin or Merkel giving interviews because they really care about what the UK population think - but they will when they see the international audience of other influential people the paper has。 I also learned that this level of journalism still relies hugely on personal networks and connections。 More so than I had realised。 It is a relatively small circle of people talking to each other。 No personal connections， no interviews or off the record insights。 It was not quite the old boy network of old as it is a much more diverse group。 Diverse， but still quite small relative to the global population。 The writer is not awe struck by the powerful。 He has those he admires， and those he does not - and he makes it pretty clear who fits in which camp。 Recent conservative party PMs in the UK are generally thought unimpressive。 But there is also a tone of arrogance。 It is not overbearing， but there is an element of self-importance about the role of the journalist。 I was split in two ways between thinking this reflects the reality that there is a small circle of powerful people who run the world and journalists are part of it， or there is a small circle of people who delude themselves that they run the world because the only people they talk to are other people in this circle。 An interesting topic in itself！Still having read this， if I was to take up the newspaper reading habit， the FT would probably now be my first choice。 。。。more
Kirk Mayer
，
An engaging， insightful and well written view on world events and leadership between 2005 and 2019。 Barber’s drive， commitment and passion permeate the text without being overpowering。 At times he is inspiring to the point of tears， at others infuriating and depressing in simply justifying the liberal centre position by claiming that everyone and everything else is wrong， most glaringly on populism and Brexit。 We need to do way better than that if we are to recover not just the moral high ground An engaging， insightful and well written view on world events and leadership between 2005 and 2019。 Barber’s drive， commitment and passion permeate the text without being overpowering。 At times he is inspiring to the point of tears， at others infuriating and depressing in simply justifying the liberal centre position by claiming that everyone and everything else is wrong， most glaringly on populism and Brexit。 We need to do way better than that if we are to recover not just the moral high ground but a balanced and open society， otherwise the implied conclusion is deeply depressing。 Address that properly and it would have been five stars。 。。。more
Mohit
，
Interesting。 At one point， someone alleges that Barber is a social climber and name dropper - which doesn't seem miles from the truth。 Bits that stood out for me were （A） the license provided by standing on facts （re Putin interview）， （B） the power of being a telephone switchboard （re Schwarzman in What it takes） and （C） having the courage to bury hatchets and move on， in typical British understatedness。 Interesting。 At one point， someone alleges that Barber is a social climber and name dropper - which doesn't seem miles from the truth。 Bits that stood out for me were （A） the license provided by standing on facts （re Putin interview）， （B） the power of being a telephone switchboard （re Schwarzman in What it takes） and （C） having the courage to bury hatchets and move on， in typical British understatedness。 。。。more
Kevin Collett
，
I really enjoyed this book。It goes without saying that the writing is of the highest quality but I appreciated the format of the book too as it’s a fast-paced run through of major news stories from the last 15 years with the author’s own take and subsequent opinions。Highly recommend for people interested in current affairs。
Sarah Harris
，
Early on in Lionel Barber’s account of his time as editor of the Financial Times， he states:‘Taking the FT to the top of the premier division， I’m starting to understand， is not just about nuts and bolts – great reporting， intrepid investigations， majestic commentary。 It’s also about being ‘in the mix’， meeting and dining with the movers and shakers， detecting the big economic， financial and political trends……。as editor I reckon I can make a difference， by encouraging the powerful – and， yes， th Early on in Lionel Barber’s account of his time as editor of the Financial Times， he states:‘Taking the FT to the top of the premier division， I’m starting to understand， is not just about nuts and bolts – great reporting， intrepid investigations， majestic commentary。 It’s also about being ‘in the mix’， meeting and dining with the movers and shakers， detecting the big economic， financial and political trends……。as editor I reckon I can make a difference， by encouraging the powerful – and， yes， the damned – to pay attention to me and， by extension， the FT。’ ‘The Powerful and the Damned’ is easy to read and flows smoothly， as you would expect。 Some of my favourite excerpts include Nigel Lawson angling for a free FT subscription; David Cameron asking Barber and his wife ‘What are you doing here？’ at a White House Dinner， and Prince Andrew’s awkward attempt at diplomacy。 I also enjoyed the many references to food， drink and travel。 In short Mr。 Barber takes you with him on his visits around the world and provides an addictive insight into recent political and historical events。 The Mail Online latterly accused Barber of being ‘a weapons-grade social climber and name-dropper extraordinaire’ and in the book， he certainly names all and sundry from Blair to Trump。 But this meeting of the movers and shakers world-wide， is what makes this an exhilarating， entertaining and informative account of Barbers time at the paper。 It IS all about connections， connections， and more connections。 Jane Austen would be proud！‘The Powerful and the Damned’ is a book I will keep and read again。 。。。more
Kristina
，