Socialists – whether dyed-in-the-wool or social democrats – are usually non-conformists. But please allow me – at least this once – to be a traditionalist and stick to my past practice of the last few years of dedicating this column to some of the best books I managed to get hold of and read during the year that is drawing to an end.

No doubt there must be something odd about someone who starts off this list with the writings of two rock stars: Sting and Bob Dylan. Regardless of whether these books had any input or not from ghost-writers, or to put it more subtly “editorial advisers”, their literary contributions have gone on to prove that rock stars can write – not just lyrics but also books. And best-sellers at that.

Dylan’s Chronicles has the loose, rambling and unstructured style of his lyrics without sacrificing its compulsiveness in the process. In the same way that he pens his lyrics, the man might be good at chronicling events but he does not necessarily do so in a chronological order. He even switches backwards and forwards through the years like a time machine gone berserk.

The fact that this book is just chapter one of a projected autobiographical trilogy shows that the man has lost none of his spark or creativity. He uses words to paint rather than to write, at the same time drawing on one of his major sources of inspiration – classical writers such as Cezanne. No wonder that the book has been described as a singular book, where never before has a rock star put pen to paper with such skill. The man might lack a certain degree of self-restraint but he definitely does not run short of inspiration.

On the other hand Sting’s Broken Music shows that a rock artist can write an autobiography with intelligence and composure without becoming over-obsessed with his favourite rock star – himself – in the process. Even though one would have imagined that the chapters dealing with his successful Police era would have captured the imagination most, I found the accounts of his early childhood and adolescence the most compelling.

No wonder that, in his introduction to the book, Sting claims that he had no interest in writing a traditional autobiographical recitation of everything that has ever happened to him. Instead, he relies on exploring specific moments, certain people and relationships as well as particular events which still resonate powerfully for him. The most daunting task that he set himself was to try “to understand the child he was and the man he became”.

If you are looking for the excesses of the rock culture, pick something else. If, on the other hand, you want something as candid and perfectly composed as his own music, then this is the book for you. In retrospect it shows that the man’s interest lies far beyond music. How is this for self-deprecation: “In the interim I will have become famous and ridiculously wealthy. The Police will have broken up by the end of 1983. That I have managed to maintain even a modicum of my sanity through this period is owed more to Trudie’s love, and patient faith in my deeper self, than in any Damascene revelation I might have had. She had thankfully seen enough of a remaining spark in me that she thought worth salvaging. As a consequence, I have been allowed to glean more wisdom from my failures in life than from the giantism of my worldly success, and for that I am eternally grateful.”

Madeline Albright, who has penned her memoirs Madam Secretary, came to discover that she was of Jewish origin only when she was well into adulthood. There is something very candid about the way she goes through her multi-chequered life, whether lecturing on campus or else lecturing politicians on the international circuit on their deeds and shortcomings.

Although throughout most of her life, she would not have considered heading the State Department a realistic possibility, you can tell from her writing that, deep down, she yearned for the job without necessarily lobbying for it. At least overtly. She described it this way: “Subtlety is required. Campaigning is simply not done – or at least not admitted.”

Through her own accounts. you can tell that she was a “natural” for Clinton, particularly since her years at the UN had given her much on-the-job experience and “a hefty dose of public exposure.” She remains a tough cookie throughout the whole book, whether she is waging war or pursuing peace. The most human touch I encountered in the book was her solo climb to success after being deserted by her husband.

I have already written at much length in another section of the local press about Bill Clinton’s My Life, but please allow me to add that, in spite of often being a rambling and bloated read, it was as much maligned as he was as President. Although this time there was no Lewinski to blame, one could single out his far too complacent editor in the process. While many friends I know preferred Hillary Clinton’s autobiography to this book, allow me to beg to differ.

2004 saw a spate of books being written about Berlusconi. Silvio Berlusconi: Television, Power & Patrimony must be the best of the lot, possibly because it is concise and easy to carry (unlike Clinton’s literally weighty offering!) as well as being incisively written by an authority on Italian politics, Paul Ginsborg, who not only teaches history at Florence University but shows through his other highly acclaimed books, A History Of Contemporary Italy and Italy And Its Discontents, that he knows what makes Italy tick far more than many Italians, leading politicians included.

On the sleeve cover, the author claims, somewhat bombastically, that “over the past two years he has been in the forefront of Italian civil society’s mobilisation in defence of democracy.” His glossary facilitates an understanding of the proceedings, while his prologue’s opening lines say it all: “When I was a young researcher working in the Venetian archives, I once dared to ask a distinguished senior American professor who was sitting next to me what it had been like to be a historian in Italy at the time of Fascism. He looked at me benignly and replied: ‘I didn’t really notice.’ It is even easier now not to notice…”

The main reason for this is that, whatever happens in Italy, even when it is ominous and sinister, everyday life continues as before, with daily newspapers reflecting a wide range of opinion, the sun shining, the tourists arriving and everybody eating extremely well.

James Naughtie’s Accidental American on Tony Blair might not have had the same devastating impact as did his earlier Rivals on the Blair-Brown relationship, but most of the book manages to live up to the

freshness and tongue-in-cheek style of its title. In summary, it is an anecdotal account of Tony Blair’s relationship with the American presidency – both Clinton and Bush, politicians who were not only poles apart but also ideologically opposed.

There must be something daring – no

matter how much one might agree or

disagree with his policies – to promise

support to Washington in such an unbending manner in defiance of sentiment at home that was so strong that it often threatened his government. Describing him as “a loner”, the author concludes his diatribe by stating that: “With Bush he began to write a narrative for the new century, a story line that challenged history and the conventions of the international alliances he inherited as prime minister. His tragedy was that although he believed that one day he would be proved right, he might never be forgiven for it.”

This list would not be complete without a special mention of Mandela’s biographer Anthony Sampson. Who Runs This Place?: The Anatomy Of Britain In The 21st Century might be a re-run of earlier works, updated to take account of the latest demographic, socio-economic and political trends in Britain. But the book has just earned itself added gravitas, since it also happens to be his last work as he passed away quietly only the other week. Sampson is an author whom I have followed since his Arms Bazaar days as well as since his earlier writings in The Sunday Observer.

Please allow me to wish a Happy New Year to all your readers, regardless of their political orientation. The same goes to your editorial staff and regular columnists – even those from whom I traditionally stand poles apart.

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Leo Brincat is the Main Opposition Spokesman on Foreign Affairs and IT