Winston: The Story Of A Political Phenomenon

by Ian Wishart

They called him “Luigi’. In fact, they’ve called him lots of things. Love him or loathe him, there’s no denying Winston Raymond Peters is a force of nature.
He’s the former school teacher brought to tears by a class of 11 year olds. He’s the former blast furnace worker for BHP Australia. He’s the man who helped inspire Dame Whina Cooper’s Land March in 1975. He’s the man credited with the introduction of the proportional voting system we now use.
But there’s another side to Winston Peters. He’s the man whose campaign against business and political corruption forced an inquiry and birthed a major new political party.
Along the way, Peters has entertained and infuriated his friends and foes in almost equal measure. He has known utter defeat, and absolute triumph; experienced total loyalty, and abject betrayal.
Winston is the most fascinating unauthorised political biography you’re likely to read, tracing the greatest hits and misses of the most dramatic career in NZ politics since World War 2.

344 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 26, 2014

About the author

Ian Wishart is a multi-award winning investigative journalist and bestselling author of more than 20 books, who's now in his fourth decade in the news business. His writing style has often been compared to John Grisham by reviewers.

He's been a radio News Director, a Chief of Staff for TV3 News and a magazine editor. His work has featured in the Times of London, Daily Mail, New Zealand Herald and America's massive Coast to Coast radio programme - to name a few. His books Totalitaria, Air Con and Vitamin D became Amazon bestsellers worldwide.

While writing his first book, The Paradise Conspiracy, Wishart's TVNZ office was discovered to have been bugged, his home was broken into, the manuscript for the book stolen, and an attempt was made on his life. Needless to say, he survived to write the story.

The first four chapters of The Paradise Conspiracy inspired movie director Geoff Murphy ("Young Guns II", "Under Siege 2") to produce the movie "Spooked" starring Cliff Curtis ("Runaway Jury", "Live Free or Die Hard") in a loose portrayal of Wishart's role as an investigative journalist.

He's been shot at, tear-gassed and stalked, but Wishart says his motivation remains telling the stories that "need to be told", whether its new leads on cold case murders, or government espionage.

As well as writing books, Wishart also divides his time between operating the http://www.investigatedaily.com and http://www.ianwishartpublishing.com websites - the latter catering to his writing and publishing clients.

Reviews

[Brian Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Autobiographies and in cases biographies (at the request of the subject matter) often reflect a form of narcissism— that the subject matter seriously believes that they are God’s gift and should be extolled in the highest of places and remembered in history for their greatness. These are therefore books I would normally avoid reading. In this case though, when I was lent the book, ‘Winston’, by Ian Wishart, I was delighted and within days had read cover to cover. I was not disappointed with this well researched and interesting chronology.
Normally a book about a politician is a put down particularly if it involves politics in another country. Politicians do not score high on the popularity or creditability ratings as Wishart sets out in this book quote:

“Listen, I’m a politician which means I’m a cheat and a liar, and when I’m not kissing babies
I’m stealing their lollipops. But it also means I keep my options open.”

Winston, though, is an exception to this perception and this book is far more than just about Winston and New Zealand politics. It involves crooked business men and corruption and extends far beyond the shores of New Zealand. Winston is unbelievably honest and when the going gets tough Winston has got going. Over 30 years in the New Zealand parliament he has instigated more positive change and exposed more corruption than any other politician. In standing for the truth he has be expelled from his political party despite looking to have a bright future where he could have become leader and New Zealand’s first Maori Prime Minister. This did not stop Winston from forming his own political party and over the years being returned to parliament time and time again against the best of predictions. Winston is a battler, survivor and hero, and worth reading about and an easy read though Wishart does tend to digress at times.

Brian Wilson, New Zealand

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not so much a biography but a detailed and supportive account on the issues Winston was involved in particularly post circa 1990.

Informative and worthwhile reading. For anyone interested in the political events and issues relevant to the country over the past two to three decades a recommended read.

[Wade Hall · Rating 3 out of 5]

A re-read after recently being appointed as Deputy Prime Minister. Interesting to learn about his grass routes, and how history has been repeated in various regards.