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The Life Of Margaret Thatcher (2013)

by Charles Moore(Favorite Author)

4.08 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

0140279563 (ISBN13: 9780140279566)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

Penguin Books

review 1: I could hardly wait to read this book. It teems with information; packed with detail. Charles Moore spent several years researching this biography, and it shows. This is part one, which takes us up to 1982. It is not a light read; the reader owes it to the writer to attempt to assimilate the information which has so methodically been set down. I read it a few chapters at a time, interspersing my reading with lighter material, such as Les Dawson's 'Well Fared My Lovely.' Finishing reading Charles Moore's biography felt like an achievement, an almost miniscule one when compared to the achievements of Margaret Thatcher. Whilst she was without doubt an extraordinary woman, there is a sense of her being in the right place at the right time. She devoted herself almost si... morengle-mindedly to her political career, some would say to the detriment of raising her family. Denis emerges as a more guiding presence than previously thought. Having attained the office of Prime Minister, it appears that Margaret Thatcher revelled in the Iron Lady soubriquet, attributed to Leonid Brezhnev, and even to believe that she was infallible. Yet at moments of crisis, she occasionally adopted a crab-like attitude of trying to side-step decision making, whilst showing a face of unbroken determination to the outside world. It is said that you either love or hate Margaret Thatcher. I was an admirer, but now see that you have to be as single-minded as she was, almost to the point of total selfishness, in order to to attain your goals. In the end, she became almost regal, referring herself as 'we.' There is no doubt that Margaret Thatcher had to withstand opposition from within her own cabinet at times; one questions whether this was due to gender bias. Yet she comes across at times as a harridan, at times like a loving mother. A contradiction in many ways. I do not know whether I will have the stamina to read part two, whenever it appears.
review 2: A compelling account of the rise of Margaret Thatcher, Moore gets as close to the human legacy as one can get. This is neither a glowing acceptance of Thatcherism, nor is it highly critical of her rise and early tenure. It presents a balanced and very humanistic view of a courageous and flawed leader - only the greatest are. The downside is that this book ends with the Falklands War and the second volume is not due out for several years. This creates problems with memory. Would have preferred to seen a two volume set, or one large volume released. less

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