Featured on The Book Show on Sky Arts on 3 February 2011.
Sadly, the tradition of Ambassadors firing off one last missive as they leave their posts is now finished – and reading some of the letters published here, you can see why. Putting the Freedom of Information act to full use, there has been some very productive digging in the archives, the authors coming up with an impressive collection of unguarded, often unwise and often humorous comments from departing Ambassadors.
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| Primary Genre | Non-Fiction Books of the Month |
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When leaving a foreign posting, Britain's ambassadors were encouraged to write a valedictory despatch until the practice was abolished in 2006. Unlike the usual style of the diplomatic bag, these last reports from foreign posts were unbuttoned, indiscreet and often very funny. There was much settling of scores, some poking fun of foreigners, a degree of moaning about the privations of Embassy life - and sometimes a bit of serious analysis too. Based on a very successful BBC radio series, Matthew Parris, who once worked for the Foreign Office and had the task of distributing the despatches, and Andrew Bryson have compiled an always entertaining and frequently hilarious volume of the best of them.
Parting Shots features in the following genres: Non-Fiction Books of the Month, eBooks of the Month, Biographies & Autobiographies, Recommendations, Biography, Literature and Literary studies
Parting Shots is available in Paperback, Hardback
Parting Shots was written by Matthew Parris and published by Viking an imprint of Penguin Books Ltd
