Margaret Thatcher was a woman of tremendous paradoxes: a conviction politician who was also a pragmatist; someone who delighted in her tough reputation, yet could also be emotional, and even tearful, when confronted by personal or national tragedy. Her reputation as a cabinet leader was one of being quasi-dictatorial, yet she left her ministers to get on with their jobs - far more than any of her successors ever have. She was known as a classical laissez faire liberal, yet she started out as a social conservative, and wasn't averse to state intervention when she felt it was warranted.
Iain Dale's sparkling short biography of Margaret Thatcher brings her to life in all her paradoxes and contradictions, and shows how her election in 1979 really was a turning point in British history. Dubbed the 'Iron Lady' by the Soviets, she was one of the few recent prime ministers to burnish an international reputation, fighting the Falklands war, playing a leading role in defeating Communism and winning the Cold War, and through her battles with the European Economic Community. Domestically, she ushered in a period of forty years of consensus on the limited role of the state, an industrial relations settlement and the dominance of the private sector in the economy - a settlement that is only now being seriously questioned.
A little over a decade after her death, Margaret Thatcher introduces her to new generations of readers who may not remember her premiership, but who are living with its consequences.
'Iain Dale introduces Margaret Thatcher to a new generation and intelligently explodes some of the myths about her' - Simon Heffer
'A compelling account of a compulsory subject, admiring but always fair minded, and a masterpiece of compression and readability' - Daniel Finkelstein
'Love her or loath her, Margaret Thatcher was one of the giants of post-War politics. To this day we live with her legacy. Iain Dale has provided a useful little primer for those who were not around at the time' - Chris Mullin, Labour MP 1987-2010 & political diarist
'One hundred years after her birth, the figure of Margaret Thatcher still looms large over contemporary politics. This timely volume shows how the Iron Lady was a more interesting, nuanced, and colourful figure than both her critics and courtiers suggest. Iain Dale has drawn from a rich well of historiography to produce a pithy, punchy and perceptive account of our first female premier' - James Heale, Deputy Political Editor of The Spectator
'I thought I knew this story quite well. I know it much better now. I learnt things about our first woman prime minister I didn't know before. This is a book that my children and grandchildren need to read' - Gyles Brandreth
'Iain Dale's passion for politics and political books is as refreshing as it is necessary' - Alastair Campbell
Iain Dale is an accomplished broadcaster, presenting his own daily radio show on LBC, and several podcasts, including 'Where Politics Meets History' and 'Iain Dale All Talk'. He is a regular on Question Time, Newsnight, Good Morning Britain, Politics Live and a columnist for the DailyTelegraph. He is the author/editor of more than 50 books, most recently The Presidents, The Prime Ministers, Kings & Queens and The Dictators. He lives in Tunbridge Wells.
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