LONDON , September 2, (Pal Telegraph) - Tony Blair regrets banning fox hunting, but not invading Iraq. He was captivated by Princess Diana, intimidated by Queen Elizabeth II. He heaps praise on President George W. Bush but calls his close colleague Gordon Brown a man of "zero" emotional intelligence. He acknowledges that some find him delusional, and says he possibly drank a bit too much.

Blair's long-awaited memoir hit bookstores Wednesday, and the revealing, self-justifying 700-page volume provides plenty of fodder for the former British leader's supporters — and detractors.

The former British prime minister was paid a 4 million pound ($7 million) advance for "A Journey," which recounts his voyage from political neophyte to youthful prime minister to admired, and then reviled, statesman.