Winston : the story of a political phenomenon / Ian Wishart.

Includes bibliographical references.

Introduction -- Humble beginnings -- Ngati Luigi -- A fuse is lit -- We all live on a yellow submarine -- Vladimir Putin lived in Karori -- The Maori loans affair -- When in Rome -- Battle of the Bolger -- Sickly white liberals -- How to win friends -- The years of living dangerously -- Enter the gladiator -- Mutually assured destruction -- The Sarah Neems mystery -- Conspiracy fact -- It's 2am. It must be Winston -- A funny thing happened on the way to the poll -- The battle of Black Stump -- Winston on the witness stand -- Winston's secret deal with Ratana Church -- Great expectations -- Crash and burn: 1997-1999 -- And they got up again -- The price of politics -- Keeping the bastards honest: snapshots.

"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. [This book] 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"--Back cover.