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Sir, Two of your recent book reviews, independently crafted by different reviewers of different volumes, converge in a marvellous display of serendipity.
For example, in his review of former UK prime minister Tony Blair’s A Journey, Lionel Barber writes that, for Mr Blair, “George [W. Bush] had immense simplicity in how he saw the world. Right or wrong, it led to decisive leadership”, which came down to “balls” (“Cavalier attitudes”, Life & Arts, September 4).
On the same page, by contrast, in his review of Kathryn Schulz’s Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error, Hugh Carnegy writes, “perhaps too much self-awareness of our unknowingness would simply leave us paralysed by indecision and lack of confidence” (“Do the right thing”, Life & Arts, September 4).
Clearly, Mr Blair, Iraq and the world would have been better served had Mr Blair been less “knowing” about the case for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Instead of joining Mr Bush in a war of choice which probably led to further radicalisation of Muslims worldwide, Mr Blair should have avoided the attraction of tempting yet self-defeating, superficial decisiveness and had the “balls” to rein in his more impulsive, impetuous American partner. In the event, he could have secured his legacy and enhanced his chances of becoming Europe’s first president and a more effective negotiator in the Middle East peace process.
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