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Title: Yes Minister: The Diaries of a Cabinet Minister by Jonathan Lynn, Anthony Jay ISBN: 0-88186-976-7 Publisher: Parkwest Pubns Pub. Date: April, 1985 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $5.95

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Average Customer Rating: 5 (2 reviews)

Rating: 5
Summary: Excellent Political Humour
Comment: This book portrays the political drama with an excellent sense of humour.

Rating: 5
Summary: You *can* teach an old Minister new tricks
Comment: Like the companion book for the later series, _Yes, Prime Minister_, _The Diaries of a Cabinet Minister_ follows in the British tradition of committing filmed episodes to paper. New fans to the series who know it only from the North American video release will actually find wholly 'new' material here; more episodes find their way into this volume than are currently available on VHS. But clearly, if you're looking for behind-the-scenes information or a discussion of _YM_ in the context of 1980's Britain, you've come to the wrong book.

No, this is a book for people who are so enamored of the dialogue, style, and even the issues of the television series that they want the same stories retold with a new twist. After reading this book, it's easy to see why there were enough such people that this book made the bestseller lists in England.

Even if you've seen every episode five times, this is fabulous stuff to add to your print library. Jonathan Lynn and Anthony Jay clearly have an ear for dialogue and a head for politics. They also are smart enough to put just enough new material in the book to reward diehard fans. By retelling each episode from the perspective of the Minister, they add a level of humor usually not present in the series: that of insight into Hacker's genuine opinions. To be sure, the book's basic paradigm is to keep all the dialogue from the filmed episode, with Hacker quoting exactly what the other characters say, but there's enough new expository material to set up those quotes that fans of the show will feel they're getting more than just a print regurgitation of the series.

Indeed, this twist proved so successful with the British readership that the authors decided to push forward and make a second edition, _The Complete Diaries of a Cabinet Minister_, which includes more pictures, more graphical elements (such as handwritten notes between Humphrey and the Minister), and I think even one more episode, that add value to the solid core found in this edition.

Which edition should you get? Given the out-of-print status of the volume, I'd say you should get what Amazon can find for you. If you liked the series, you won't be disappointed with either.