The first thing I'd tell anyone who wanted to listen to the audio version of this book (or indeed read it) is that it is very much for fans of politics. If the inner workings of New Labour and the art of the possible get your blood flowing a bit quicker, then this is an excellent book. On the other hand, if you'd rather change the subject when politics comes up in conversation, then this book is probably not for you.
It is also worth making you aware that this is very much a fixers guide to politics, rather than the charismatic words of a front man (such as Blair or Clinton). To use a phrase from the film The Damned United: Blair was the shop front, and Campbell was more the goods at the back.
The audio book is a 5 CD abridged version of the 832 page full version and, although this can have limitations, it still seems to fit in all the essentials while giving sufficient detail on each to provide valuable insights on the inner workings of New Labour. As a politics geek myself, I found the content really interesting, especially when it came to how Campbell dealt with the stresses of the job and his conversations with Bill Clinton and George Bush (the latter of whom is, like Campbell, a teetotaller but, unlike Campbell, saw religion as the only way out).
Unfortunately the fascinating and well selected content is let down by Alastair Campbell's rather monotonous tone. Though his voice is bearable, it is annoying as Campbell seems to end all of his sentences on a glum downbeat note. Furthermore, every sentence seems to use more or less the same rhythm, which grates a little after 5 CD's and could have been improved by better use of tone (as in Blair's reading of 'A Journey') or the employment of a professional narrator.
So, before getting the audio book version (or reading the paperback), it is worth considering that this is very much the mechanics manual, as opposed to Top Gear. And if you want to just listen to the audio version, then you should be aware that it is no Shakespeare play.
But if you can live with both these things, then I'd encourage you to give this book a go as there are few other books that provide quite so much in-depth detail of what it was like to really be at the centre of power...