But it repays the effort. Why Reform? Well into the book, Palmer approvingly quotes historian Niall Fergusson's line that ''lawyers, who can be revolutionaries in a dynamic society, become parasites in a stationary one''.
As he shows, he has spent most of his life reforming things: accident compensation, constitutional law, the economy, government agencies, whaling, liquor laws and international relations, among other things. Although the last chapter is entitled ''Some Lighter Moments'', the overall tone is measured and serious. Despite a wonderful word image of the young lawyer rushing about Wellington on a motor scooter, Reform favours Palmer's public life.
The book follows a generally conventional track, starting with his family background. Building on the wonderful online historic newspapers collection Papers Past, Palmer paints a colourful portrait of his voluble, eccentric and highly litigious Nelson ancestor, John Palmer. Perhaps the law runs through the Palmer family veins?
He takes us through his early career, where he chose the law over journalism. That led to academic posts in the United States before returning home, creating the bridge between the law and politics with work on accident compensation in New Zealand and Australia (where he had the opportunity of watching the Whitlam government self-destruct).
The safe seat of Christchurch East saw him rise quickly as a backbencher (where the worst mistake he admits to was agreeing to judge a baby show) and then deputy leader of the Opposition. As we all know, after nine years in the wilderness, Labour swept to power in the so-called ''Schnapps election'' in 1984.
Labour rebuilt the economy at blitzkrieg speed. Palmer's task of reforming the Government Printing Office was made especially easy by the fact that that department had no statute to be altered.
Palmer found himself being a political pooper-scooper: ''David [Lange] was neither gifted at nor interested in administration'', leaving much of the work to be done by his deputy or by senior officials. In Cabinet, Lange was collegial, cheerful and good on big-picture issues, but he frequently became bored at Cabinet committee meetings.
''He was a very quick brief. Perhaps too brief.''
His health problems were also a problem.
''One of the requirements of political life is an iron constitution and the ability to work very long hours''.
After the 1987 share-market collapse, Labour frayed badly: ''As the person who was in the middle I had little patience with either side, Lange or Douglas. Offices of both ministers were sniping and leaking and it was chaos. The staff on both sides were out of control.''
''David had serious weaknesses that in the end destroyed his government. He could not or would not have meaningful discussions with Roger Douglas over their differences.''
Partway through the book, Palmer remarks that ''I have had a great life out of politics and never missed it for a minute''. This makes him a very modern ex-prime minister. In the past they either died in harness or lingered on on the back benches. Palmer, Mike Moore, Jim Bolger, Jenny Shipley and Helen Clark have gone on to other things.
Palmer worked internationally (the Gaza Flotilla inquiry, the International Whaling Commission) and locally, leading the Law Commission, questioning alcohol laws and returning to local government reform. At the time of writing he was pessimistic about the last: ''for them [politicians and officials] there is no sound so sweet as the squeak of the parish pump''.
Constitutional reform is his greatest interest. An early trip to the United Kingdom convinced him that ''the constitution could not be sustained by ceremony and history''. Since writing his book, National and the Maori Party's constitutional ''conversation'' has dumped a Claytons report on an uninterested public.
''Constitutional change has to be driven. It does not just happen'', Palmer seethes with a hint of the old Rogernomics fervour.
I'm surprised this US expert wants a written constitution, given recent political crises in the US and the nonsense of defining what 18th-century ideas about militia and the right to bear arms really mean in an age of automatic weapons and hand-held missile launchers, but that is a strength of this book. It bristles with ideas and will intrigue New Zealanders interested in educating themselves about our government and its workings.
- Gavin McLean is a Wellington historian.
