'I was a businessman, a risk taker.' - Albert Reynolds
'Albert was a trader and Albert was a dealer - he was a bottom-line man.' - John Major
Albert Reynolds has led an extraordinary life. Now, for the first time, Ireland's eighth Taoiseach tells his life story - from his childhood and first steps as a young businessman to his action-filled years in the political arena. Bringing lessons learned in business to his ten years as a government minister, he continued his style of direct dealing in the office of Taoiseach, tackling his key objectives on the Irish economy and the search for peace in Northern Ireland.
In this revelatory autobiography, Albert tells how his dynamic, can-do approach and his consistent ability to make the most of an opportunity allowed a boy from the village of Roosky, Co. Roscommon, to build a ballroom empire with his brother Jim, to found a multi-million-pound company and to make a profound and lasting contribution to Irish politics.
Albert relives a busy political life - from high achievements such as the Downing Street Declaration, negotiating the first IRA ceasefire and laying the foundations for an improved economy, to lows like the collapse of the Fianna Fáil-Labour coalitions and the disappointment of his presidential bid.
The Northern Ireland peace process is thrown into dramatic relief with original contributions from other voices such as John Major, Bill Clinton, Martin McGuinness and Archbishop Eames and eye-opening revelations about secret, behind-the-scenes meetings with key players.
'Give it as it was; tell it as it is, that is me.' In his autobiography, he does just that.