Alan Johnson (10) (1950–)
Author of This Boy
About the Author
Image credit: https://alanjohnsonbooks.co.uk/bio/
Series
Works by Alan Johnson
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Johnson, Alan Arthur
- Birthdate
- 1950-05-17
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- UK
- Birthplace
- London, England, UK
- Places of residence
- East Yorkshire, England, UK
- Occupations
- postal worker
trade unionist
politician - Organizations
- The Labour Party
- Short biography
- Alan Johnson was General Secretary of the Communication Workers Union before entering Parliament as Labour MP for Hull West and Hessle in 1997. He served as Home Secretary from June 2009 to May 2010. Before that, he filled a wide variety of cabinet positions in both the Blair and Brown governments, including Health Secretary and Education Secretary. Until 20 January 2011 he was Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer. Alan retired as an MP before the 2017 general election after 20 years as an MP.
Members
Reviews
I very much enjoyed the first part of Alan Johnson's memoirs - 'This Boy'. 'Please Mister Postman' takes over from where the first book leaves off, and details his long career in the Post Office, first as a postman, and latterly as an increasingly politicised union official. Perhaps that was the problem for me. On the whole, the book was about Johnson's developing career. He touched on the lives of his sister and family, and on his own home life, but barely. He may have written the book he wanted to, but it wasn't necessarily the book I wanted to read. A book I read willingly enough, as it was well-written and quite absorbing, but not the winner that his first volume was for me.… (more)
This book covers much of the same ground as Johnson's previous autobiographies, though from a slightly diffrent angle - music. Despite his hugely disadvantaged childhood, Alan Johnson was clearly a gifted musician, and almost obsessively interested in poular music. If only his instruments hadn't been stolen, more than once, there was a chance he might have made it into the burgeoning 60s music scene big-time.
He and I are much the same age, and were raised about 5 miles apart: and my mother taught at the school his sister attended. Hence the book's interest for me, and the reason why I enjoyed it. I have to admit that without this personal involvement, I would have found this only averagely involving. A light and entertaining read.… (more)
He and I are much the same age, and were raised about 5 miles apart: and my mother taught at the school his sister attended. Hence the book's interest for me, and the reason why I enjoyed it. I have to admit that without this personal involvement, I would have found this only averagely involving. A light and entertaining read.… (more)
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Statistics
- Works
- 8
- Members
- 469
- Popularity
- #52,471
- Rating
- 4.0
- Reviews
- 31
- ISBNs
- 78
- Favorited
- 1
This is a second mystery in what has become a series featuring Louise Mangan, who is now Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police in London. A government minister has gone missing on a walking holiday in Crete and Louise has been asked to liaise with the Greek police in the search for him. At the same time she must stay abreast of potential problems connected to an upcoming visit to London of a controversial Turkish author. While I enjoyed it enormously, it did not have the sheer excitement of the first novel. However, as a combination of political drama and police procedural it is well-written, has great characters, fabulous location, and keeps the reader engaged, if not on the edge of their seat. I can’t wait to get the next book in the series.… (more)