The Insider: The Private Diaries of a Scandalous Decade

Blurb

The Insider: The Private Diaries of a Scandalous Decade is a book written in diary form by Piers Morgan documenting his time as editor of the News of the World and Daily Mirror. It was serialised by the Daily Mail.
Although the book is presented in diary form, many reviewers expressed scepticism that the diaries were actually composed during Morgan's tenure as a tabloid editor. Andrew Anthony of The Observer noted the use of the phrase "axis of evil" in an entry two months prior to its use by George W. Bush in his 2002 State of the Union address. The phrase was removed from the subsequent paperback version. Most reviewers were of the opinion that the book was written after the fact at the suggestion of his literary agent and is, consequently, of little use to historians. Sam Leith of The Spectator called the conversations, in particular, "imaginatively reconstructed — as betrayed in some very weird dialogue". David Smith of The Observer felt that the book's contents should "never...be swallowed without a spoonful of salt".