Worthy but not essential reading
|
I read this book after The Downing Street Years, and would generally agree with other reviews: it is simply not as compelling as its predecessor.
I was content to skim over the first few chapters (I rarely find the early years of any biography all that interesting) in anticipation to get to what I really wanted to hear about: her account of her time in Ted Heath's government.
That is, for me, the best part of this book. Her time in Heath's government is covered by two whole chapters, and her views of his leadership and, as she saw it, the 'U'-turn in the early 1970s, couldn't be clearer. But to be fair, though, she does hold up her hand and accept - as a full member of the Cabinet - her share of the blame for that government's ultimate failure.
I certainly think the publishers made a major gaffe by releasing this book AFTER The Downing Street Years which, as mentioned above and by some previous reviewers, was much superior. After the fascinating account of her turbulent years at No 10, this sequel was just bound to be a bit of an anti-climax.
|
|
A road less travelled...
|
|
In this book, the prequel to her more successful (and essentially more interesting) volume entitled 'The Downing Street Years', Margaret Thatcher gives us a glimpse into her life, and the events and people who shaped her, basically, who made her who she is. You'll learn about her time at university, her early days in politics from a personal standpoint (for instance, she used to do her own ironing to press dresses immediately before going out, as she couldn't afford to have them pressed, and other small details like this abound), early days in the government and then leading up to the time in opposition prior to the elections of 1979. Thatcher also adds a postscript to this book, completed after the account of her time as Prime Minister, in which she gives her prescriptions for a better Britain and Europe (in some ways, she might agree that her stance on the Eurocurrency is a la Nancy Reagan, i.e., 'Just say No!'). She has a few swipes at John Major, the man she helped into power, perhaps hoping to be able to be an active and effective agent from behind the scenes. Major retaliates a bit in his own autobiography. In all, unless you're REALLY into British politics or Thatcher personally, this book could be easily missed. Read 'The Downing Street Years', and, as I've seen you can often pick this book up for some bargain-bin price, buy it so as to have the set. And you might peruse a chapter here and there. It does have a good style of writing, but goes on quite a bit. Historians will appreciate it, but I often wonder if politicians think that most will actually read through all this material, considering they are invariably written when the author is off the centre stage?
|
|
|
A road less travelled...
|
|
In this book, the prequel to her more successful (and essentially more interesting) volume entitled 'The Downing Street Years', Margaret Thatcher gives us a glimpse into her life, and the events and people who shaped her, basically, who made her who she is. One learns about her time at university, her early days in politics from a personal standpoint (for instance, she used to do her own ironing to press dresses immediately before going out, as she couldn't afford to have them pressed, and other small details like this abound), early days in the government and then leading up to the time in opposition prior to the elections of 1979. Thatcher also adds a postscript to this book, completed after the account of her time as Prime Minister, in which she gives her prescriptions for a better Britain and Europe (in some ways, she might agree that her stance on the Eurocurrency is a la Nancy Reagan, i.e., 'Just say No!'). She has a few swipes at John Major, the man she helped into power, perhaps hoping to be able to be an active and effective agent from behind the scenes. Major retaliates a bit in his own autobiography. In all, unless one is really into British politics or Thatcher personally, this book could be easily missed. Read 'The Downing Street Years', and, as I've seen once can often pick this book up for some bargain-bin price, buy it so as to have the set. And one might peruse a chapter here and there. It does have a good style of writing, but goes on quite a bit. Historians will appreciate it, but I often wonder if politicians think that most will actually read through all this material, considering they are invariably written when the author is off the centre stage?
|
|
|
Path to Power: One View
|
Mrs. Thatcher formulates conservative political policy with precision; she also communicates it with persuasion. "Path to Power," the account of her pre-Downing street years, opens up some of the history behind those policy decisions. Throughout the book Thatcher marries personal insights with hard economic fact - trade unions, the Heath government, the press, fellow MP's, are all the subject of analysis interspersed with historical narrative of key events.
Mrs. Thatcher lets the reader in on how she herself was moved by events, admitting small missteps and regrets. Her accounts of press reactions to her early speeches against the Soviets are interesting, as is the narrative of the period immediately preceding her first election as PM. The various glimpses into the policy battles within the Heath government are also insightful, but for this reader is was a bit sad to read of some Tory MP's falling out of her favor. Margaret was good at Parliamentary debate, a good communicator; perhaps one can best quantify her success by noting the many policy initiatives that she later carried through Parliament as PM. One of these - privatizing nationalized industry - is now one of her legacies. As a speaker, the reader gets a sense of how she tended to frame issues in terms of their ultimate consequences; as an administrator, we get a view into how she would work to get the right people on her team.
I found it interesting to follow this work (and its sequel) with Major's autobiography (which extends the story of Tory governance to 1997) and with Heath's autobiography. (Major does a fine job describing relationships and interactions, while Heath tends to excel at covering interesting events and movements.)
"Path" seems a good personalized account of politics of the 1970's. The reader sees the beginnings in Mrs. Thatcher's methods; by the end, one sees a formidable, though occasionally struggling, voice for conservatism at the helm of the party. This book prepares one for the follow on and makes for rewarding reading.
|
|
Not bad, but could do better!
|
|
I opened this book with no admiration for Mrs Thatcher and only curiousity as an excuse for doing so. By the time I had closed it I found myself admiring her more than I had. In the book we find a warmer woman than we have been conditioned to believe -even by herself. She shows a deeper more inclusive vision that, if existed during her premiership, was sadly hidden. Throughout the book a woman of spirit is portrayed, a necessary trait in any politician who aspires to the highest level. Although the book made me more sympathetic to Mrs Thatcher's viewpoint this should not detract from the fact that the book manages to be fairly boring througout. A biography is not the place to argue out the pros and cons of incomes policy in such detail. Nor is there much humour in the book: few interesting stories retold, and there is a definite lack of the playfulness found in John Major's biography. At times there is a definite impression that the author is fudging. When Keith Joseph decides to forego stepping into the arena to challenge Edward Heath it is Margaret Thatcher herself who feels compelled to lead the charge for the right-thinking segment of the Party, which she believes will solve the spiritual crisis of the country: ambition is never mentioned. Her candidacy is described as an act for the good of Britain. Well it could be, but it's difficult to trust wholly altruistic motives. In the end Margaret Thatcher is likeable and she did what she believed in and you can't ask for more than that, but this book proves that Uncommon though she was, she is not Great. Her arguments have too many holes, her ideas lack roundedness with regards to human nature and there is no sustaining vision of where human beings should aim for beyond economic comfort and good managemnt such as there is in Nixon, Bevan, De Gaulle and other Great Leaders of the century.
|
|
|
United States | 
United Kingdom | 
Canada