 |
As an American, who had read her "Downing Street Years" I was pleased with this edition. She was reclusive on personal issues, but she was extremely thorough with details of her rise in politics and her interaction with fellow polititions. We can only hope that we are as fortunate at the UK was in a time when quality Leadership was so important. I highly recommend both sets of books to anyone interested in History. Reading this secondly is also recommended.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
In "The Path to Power", Margaret Thatcher describes in gripping detail how she came to be the Iron Lady. From her childhood in Grantham to going to Oxford to entering Parliament, to joining the cabinet, to being elected leader of the Conservative Party, Margaret Thatcher describes how she overcame long odds and her modest background to become a political force in her own right and poised to become Britain's first woman Prime Minister. Growing up, she learned the value of making up your own mind and not following the crowd just for its own sake; that very often, the crowd wants a leader and from an early age, she knew it was her job to provide that leadership. She recounts how she learned far more about economics from working in her father's grocery store than she ever did in school or college. At eighteen, she broke ground when she entered Oxford University. For a Grantham girl to go to Oxford in 1943 was like a country girl from Alabama or Mississippi going to Yale or Harvard. She describes her political education, running for MP from Dartford in 1950 and 1951 and then being elected MP for Finchley in 1959. She recounts the frustrations of being in the opposition during the 1960s, unable to stop the passage of legislation she vehemently disagreed with. She recounts in exciting detail being the Minister for Education in Ted Heath's government and with frustration Ted Heath's inability to control events in Britain, or to get tough with the out-of-control trade unions. The 1974 elections were two defeats too many for Margaret Thatcher. She has had enough of Ted Heath and challenges him for the party leadership. In gripping detail, she recounts the moment she left Downing Street for the last time as a cabinet minister to the moment she found herself elected leader of the Conservative Party. The plot moves faster after Margaret Thatcher won the party leadership in 1975, as she moves to reinvent the Tories as the party of free-enterprise, low taxes, minimal government, traditional values and an aggressive foreign policy and the opposition she faces along the way. Margaret Thatcher had a tough time as leader of the Conservative Party because she was a woman; and nearly all the other Tories were men and there was a lot of male chauvinism. In addition, she was middle class, most of the other Tories were old money, she was far more conservative than they. So the only way for her to survive politically was to be extremely tough and aggressive. The book ends with the 1979 General Election, in which Margaret Thatcher is largely left to go it alone. Few of her colleagues seriously expected Britain to elect a woman Prime Minister, but Margaret Thatcher confounds everyone when she leads her party to victory. And that's where the book ends. One episode that she recounts, that I found funny, was in the 1979 campaign, when she was campaigning and as she was leaving a tea-factory in Newcastle, a large woman was out in the crowd shouting obscenities and Margaret Thatcher went over to the woman and asked her what was wrong; gave her a chance to clear the air and as Margaret Thatcher left, the woman said in equally loud tones that at least Margaret Thatcher was a good person. As with all of Margaret Thatcher's writing, reading "The Path to Power" is a mountaintop experience that will make all other reading seem dull and boring by comparison.Read full review
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Best Selling in Books
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Save on Books
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- You may also like
