Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013)

'My government is about the implementing of a philosophy, not that of a bureaucracy' -or so she claimed. There is no denying, though, that Margaret Thatcher was one of the most defining British Prime Minister ever. Admire her or hate her, there is indeed a 'before' and an 'after' Thatcher, and her legacy (for good, bad, and awful) still linger over us all.

Here is a massive (massive!) opus, in which she recounts her decade leading the UK. It makes for engrossing history, as a whole chapter of show more our contemporary era parades under our eyes, as retold by one of its key participant and actor. What's striking, too, is how her personality shines throughout: her writing style, sharp, straightforward, punchy, reflects an ambitious personality used to take no prisoners; while her detailing of her economics decisions and policies (where she shows herself very technical, to the point of boring the reader to death with even the most trivial figures) hints at a person probably more interested in churning out data and statistics than about the people behind it all...

It took me a while to read it. It's very, very (very) long of course, but it wasn't my issue (again: the retelling of her leadership is fascinating, whatever you think of her legacy). What kills it -for me- was her insisting on getting down to figures and statistical details when justifying/ defending her views, rendering the book far more abstract than it should be. There was no need for such overkill with numbers, and, from someone claiming despising bureaucracies, yet writing here like a bureaucrat at times, I found that approach rather ironic... But then again: what was her leadership mainly about, if not a capitalism turning us all into numbers over our humanity? Or... Or is it my personal views of her heritage clouding my judgement? Whatever: it's a must read for anyone interested in history, British politics, and/or both. show less

2576 The Downing Street Years, by Margaret Thatcher (read 5 Feb 1994) This is a fascinating book, brimming with energy. Thatcher is a an extremely able, hard-working, and committed woman and her time as prime minister (May 1979 to November 1990) was good for Britain and the world. There were times in this book--as in Harold Wilson's book, which I so enjoyed and found memorable when I read it in May 1987,-- that the obscurities of internal English affairs were daunting. Long stretches on show more health, education, and housing politics, filled with obscure Briticisms, were hard to follow. But the foreign affairs and parliamentary intricacies were a breeze. I liked the book much, and was much moved by her quote from her final speech in Commons. This is a great book by a great leader whom I agree with on many things. show less

I was kind of disappointed, because it seemed to me like a laundry list of "and then I did this, and then I did that, and then I met this head of state, and then this bloody fool stabbed me in the back, and the liberals said this stupid thing." I am by no means a fan of her politics, but I used to love to watch the PM's Question Time on C-SPAN because she was a marvelous debater. Maybe the volume that covers her early years would be more interesting to me.

A riveting first hand account from the leader of Great Britain from 1979 to 1991. Some tedious bits about economic policy but generally interesting stuff.