‘Gripping and horrifying… witty and brilliant. Buy it’ The Times

‘A treasure trove of killer facts’ Guardian

‘Read it, absorb it, and understand how the country works’ Laura Kuenssberg

Paul Johnson and the enormously respected Institute for Fiscal Studies aim to hold Government to account – without which politicians will get away with their half-truths, elisions and dubious claims. This is a forensic examination – by the man best placed to do so – of the way the state raises and spends £1 trillion of our money every year. To follow the money. To provide an explanation, of where that money comes from and where it goes to, how that has changed and how it needs to change.

‘This book is the antidote to naivety that our political class needs. Anyone, in fact, who has strong views about how society should be run would benefit from reading it, because every political ambition costs money and as Johnson writes, “someone has to pay for all this”… The story he tells may leave you reeling… Johnson’s buoyant yet acerbic style will keep you engaged. The sobering realities he lays out are peppered with entertaining asides’
Book of the Week, Sunday Times

‘This is a brilliant book. Buy it, read it and weep’ The Times

‘The antidote to naivety that our political class needs’ Sunday Times, Book of the Week

‘A treasure trove of killer facts’ Guardian

‘Read it, absorb it, and understand how the country works’ Laura Kuenssberg

‘If you want to understand why crazy politics routinely trumps economic rationality in government choices, read this’ Robert Peston

Paul Johnson and the enormously respected Institute for Fiscal Studies aim to hold Government to account – without which politicians will get away with their half-truths, elisions and dubious claims. This is a forensic examination – by the man best placed to do so – of the way the state raises and spends £1 trillion of our money every year. To follow the money. To provide an explanation, of where that money comes from and where it goes to, how that has changed and how it needs to change.

Government decisions determine the welfare of the poor and the elderly, the state of the health service, the effectiveness of our children’s education, and how prepared we are for the future: whether that is a pandemic or global warming. As a society, we are a reflection of what the government spends.

Johnson looks at what happened following the financial crisis of 2008-09 and the austerity years that followed. He examines the way that the government tackled the economy during Covid – when the UK budget shot up to over a trillion for the first time – and he analyses prospects for our future as we grapple with looming recession and the cost of living crisis.

‘Written with his customary verve and certainty’ Andrew Roberts, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

Written with great wit and panache, this biography also has a serious purpose: to make us face up to the moral bankruptcy of Napoleon’s dictatorship.

Johnson tells the whole story: his astonishing gift for battle tactics and his complete control of propaganda. His audacious, hyperactive and aggressive leadership alongside his failure as an international statesman, as Europe grew to hate him. His marshals and ministers; his wives, mistresses. The mistakes he made; the escape from Elba, and the world-changing events leading up to Waterloo and the battle itself.

This riveting account is a fascinating look at one of the most notorious military leaders of all time.