The Complete Yes Minister: The Diaries of a Cabinet Minister - Hardcover

Ah! Why aren't more radio dramas like this? Perhaps because it's hard to write comedy as polished as Jonathan Lynn's and Antony Jay's in this classic British satire following a new government minister as he butts up against the entrenched civil service and the realities of political life. It's hard to tell who is being most severely critiqued. Is it complacent civil servants? Shallow, ignorant elected officials? The British public, who allow all this to go on? Thankfully, listeners don't have to decide. Instead, they can enjoy Paul Eddington's wonderful timing as Jim Hacker, Nigel Hawthorne's supercilious characterization of Sir Humphrey Appleby, and Derek Fowlds's precise portrait of Bernard Wooley. G.T.B. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

The British TV series Yes Minister (shown here on PBS) began as an innocuous spoof on the vagaries of politicians and civil servants. Its popularity increased as it developed a deepening satiric perception of how the British are actually governed: Ministers are kept in the dark by their civil service advisers as much as possible; their sole domain is "making policy," while the civil servants get on with running the country and making sure the politicians get the blame. In turning their scripts into a book, the authors have gone beyond a simple recounting of the episodes. Presented as actual memoirsthe diary of James Hacker, Minister for the Department of Administrative Affairs, augmented by material from his two civil service advisers, Sir Humphrey Appleby and Bernard WooleyYes Minister is an amusingly literate, sharply satirical account of the exchanges of quid pro quo necessary to run any government. The book surpasses its TV origins and stands firmly on its own merits. On the bestseller lists in England for over three years, this provocative satire could well be considered a British Doonesbury. 25,000 first printing.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.