Margaret Thatcher:: A Portrait of the Iron Lady - Softcover

Blundell, John

3.31

70 ratings by Goodreads

9780875866307: Margaret Thatcher:: A Portrait of the Iron Lady

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0875866301 ISBN 13: 9780875866307

Publisher: Algora Publishing, 2008

View all copies of this ISBN edition:

When Margaret Thatcher donated $3m to the Heritage Foundation in Washington, DC, to establish the Thatcher Center, it was John Blundell who proposed the toast to her in front of the 500+ audience assembled to mark the occasion. This book is his personal portrait of Margaret Thatcher, the woman who was the pivotal point of the rescue of a country, a woman who woke up her nation and made it once again a world leader. It is not only the story of her life but also an examination of the ideas, interests, and circumstances surrounding key events. The author illustrates Thatcher's decisive style in handling potentially explosive issues, her sang-froid, and her charm through numerous vignettes and quotes. He relates the facts of Margaret Thatcher's terms in power and explains how policy reforms and political perspectives that are now taken for granted in Britain had to be fought for. The transformation she brought to the United Kingdom was stunning on many fronts. Pre-Thatcher, Blundell says, a sclerotic union-dominated economy was typified by surly service, poor products and a "craven" business class. Post-Thatcher even the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), an exemplar of what Americans call the "liberal media," extended its coverage of the private business sector quite considerably, such is the emphasis on the values of capitalism in today's society. Service and product quality have been improved many times over. The choice and level of quality and service that had so impressed the author on his first visits to the U.S. in 1974 was becoming commonplace in the UK by the end of her terms as Prime Minister.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

About the Author:

John Blundell is Director-General of London's Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), which was recently described by the BBC's Andrew Marr as "undoubtedly the most influential think tank in modern British history".

He has known Margaret Thatcher since 1970 and has met her in every post she has had since then (and many times since she resigned from public office).

Educated in the UK, he spent over a decade working in the United States and has homes in London and the Allegheny Mountains. He is on the Board of Directors of three major US conservative groups.

Review:

John Blundell has been one of the most effective champions of the free-enterprise economic model which has delivered progress and prosperity around the world. Therefore he is very well placed to explain to Americans the beliefs and principles which underpinned what became known as "Thatcherism". --Lady Thatcher, Summer 2008

Having been a member of the radical pre-Thatcherite edge of the Conservative Party and having lived in the USA for 11 years, John Blundell is very well placed to explain the Thatcherism to American and British readers alike. --Rt Hon David Davis MP, Shadow Home Secretary for the Conservative Party (UK)

John Blundell is uniquely well placed to explain Lady Thatcher and her accomplishments to Americans because he was so deeply involved in the war of ideas in the UK yet spent a great deal of time in the USA. --Edwin Meese III, former US Attorney General

This is a biography of former Margaret Thatcher, British Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990 and leader of the Conservative party from 1975 to 1990, "the woman who was the pivotal point of the rescue of a country, the woman who woke up her nation and made it once again a world leader and player," to quote author Blundell (Director-General, Institute of Economic Affairs, UK). In addition to recounting the events of her political and (to a much lesser extent) personal life, Blundell spends much time lauding the economic tenets of Thatcherism and Thatcher's general success in imposing them. --BOOK NEWS, Inc./Reference & Research Book News

John Blundell is uniquely well placed to explain Lady Thatcher and her accomplishments to Americans because he was so deeply involved in the war of ideas in the UK yet spent a great deal of time in the USA. --Edwin Meese III, former US Attorney General

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.