Book review: 'Lunch With The FT: 52 Classic Interviews' is a must read

Did you know Imran Khan believed he would score a century and take 10 wickets the first time he played a test match Or that Queen Rania an MBA from Cairo finds it the hardest to fight criticism about her when it targets her Palestinian roots Or that Donald Rumsfeld is unrepentant about the war on Iraq You did But surely you didnrsquot know that former New Zealand PM Helen Clark likes Orange Blossom tea that Khan relishes kebabs served at a tiny Afghan restaurant in Islamabad or that Rania has a soft corner for cakes Angelina Jolie Lunch With The FT 52 Classic Interviews is one of the most popular and eagerly anticipated sections of the Financial Times newspaper where every week one of FTrsquos crack reporters and editors catch up with a celebrity over lunch breakfast or tea and discuss everything from politics and poetry to nuclear wars and nudity with them over delectable food and wine Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana But if you can survive the hunger pangs when you read about what they ate then each interview makes for delightful reading Small wonder then that FT has now come out with a collection of these interviews The book is edited by FTrsquos editor Lionel Barber The collection includes interviews with iconic personalities such as Jimmy Carter Imran Khan Albert Uderzo Queen Rania Dolce amp Gabbana Saif Gaddafi and manyothers Donald Rumsfeld What perhaps makes this book a mustread is the fact that many if not all of the men and women interviewed in the book are those who we would love to know more about but may never get a chance to meet let alone talk to Most of the featured interviews have an easy flowing style that manages to show the subjects in flesh and blood devoid of their starry persona Steve Wozniak For instance in between teaching his interviewer how to eat kebabs with bare hands cricketerturnedpolitician Imran Khan talks about terrorism and nationalism in Pakistan and why he feels the US is paranoid about everything Islamic At another luncheon meet Jimmy Choo founder Tamara Mellon talks about the furore over her naked portrait in a matteroffact manner while ordering a threecourse meal before she switches track to talk about how she made her millions Or Steve Wozniak who says he wouldnrsquot mind another bite of Apple while feasting on a rack of ribs Lunch With The FT Edited by Lionel Barber Penguin India Rs 799 Admittedly some interviews fall a little short of expectation A teteatete with Queen Rania of Jordan raises expectations as the Palestineborn queen starts talking about how she uses her social status to highlight Jordanrsquos problems to the world But then somewhere the story loses its trail and focuses more on how stunning and charming the lady is Perhaps the interviewer was bowled over after being kissed thrice on the cheeks by the queen The chat with former New Zealand PM Helen Clark she was interviewed when she was PM however is thoughtprovoking as the labour leader discusses why she did not join the war on Iraq arguing that New Zealand needs to have its own independent agendau00a0Readers can also get fantastic insight into the eating habits Many of the articles have boxes that explain what was consumed during the interview and how much it cost Almost uniformly politicians ate less entertainers ate more and with a few exceptions elder statesmen limited themselves to tea or sandwiches But who ran up a bill of close to 200 And who offered the interviewer food from his farm as they discussed peace in the middle of a wartorn country A lot many more secrets tumble out of the book as you turn the pages If we were to borrow a phrase coined by the iconic film critic Roger Ebert who passed away this month Lunch With The FT gets two thumbs up