Stanley I Presume?

Description

A rip-roaring and hilarious memoir from Stanley Johnson - father of London mayor Boris Johnson. Stanley's story begins with a loud bang - when his father, an RAF pilot in the Second World War, crash-lands a Wellington bomber in a Devon airfield. A few years later, Stanley's parents buy a sheep farm on nearby Exmoor, where Stanley does much of his growing up. Stanley would keep his links with this much-loved rural idyll throughout his life - while going on to become an explorer, author, occasional politician and also one of the world's first environmentalists. On leaving school in 1958, Stanley travelled alone through South America - hitching rides across the jungle on Brazilian Air Force planes - and shortly afterwards rode a motorcycle 4,000 miles from London to Afghanistan, tracing the route of Marco Polo with two friends. Stanley went on to do various adventurous jobs, before working for the billionaire John D Rockefeller III, the World Bank, the United Nations and the European Union. Stanley married and started a family young - Boris was born in New York when his father was twenty-three - and while Boris would go on to become big news, the family's forbears also provide quite a story, as Stanley finds out. For the Johnson family's roots are not just in the West Country, but in Turkey, too - where, as Stanley discovers, his politician grandfather Ali Kemal was torn to pieces by an angry mob. Stanley visits a Turkish village where the locals are blonde - later he learns that he and Boris are direct descendants of George II. A sparkling raconteur and experienced thriller writer, in 'Stanley, I Presume?', Stanley Johnson tells great stories in an unsurpassable style.

Stanley Johnson is a veteran author, environmentalist and politician - and father of Boris Johnson, the London mayor. Stanley's career has seen him write successful thrillers, confront seal-clubbers on ice floes and be hailed by Greenpeace. He has also worked for the World Bank, the United Nations, the European Commission and John D Rockefeller. While his work has taken him all over the world, Stanley has always kept his strong links with Exmoor, where he still manages the family farm.

'When asked to review my father's memoir...I was thrilled. My father has had a rip-roaring life, created countless cock-ups on all four continents and writes like a dream...Highly enjoyable reading.' Rachel Johnson, Evening Standard 'A hilarious memoir.' Sunday Times 'This is a very funny book - Stanley devotes most of his autobiography to telling jokes at his own expense.' Andrew Gimson, Daily Telegraph 'Laugh out loud funny - once you've read it you'll understand a lot more about what makes Boris tick.' News of the World 'A wonderful jaw-dropping account of a rollercoaster life. Johnson senior does not disappoint...the book is a triumph.' Anne Robinson