The Iron Lady: A Biography of Margaret Thatcher [Paperback]

Hugo Young (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1990

Margaret Thatcher is one of the most remarkable political phenomena of the 20th century. She is also a figure of profound paradox. The Iron Lady follows Mrs. Thatcher's political formation from her beginning as a small-town alderman's daughter to her emergence as the senior statesman of the Western world.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Young's probing political biography reveals how Thatcher changed the face of the Conservative Party in a series of "mighty battles" with the old guard, tamed the trade unions, controlled inflation and unemployment and, by her conduct of the Falkland War and her dealings with Reagan and Gorbachev, emerged as a global leader. Reviewing her tenure as a combative, pragmatic prime minister with a driving sense of mission, Young, a journalist for the Guardian in England, concludes that Thatcher has displayed the virtues and vices of "a ruthless crusading leader who knew she was right and had the supreme duty to remain in power." Her accomplishments have been extraordinary and yet, as Young points out, there is scant evidence that her countrymen like her, let alone love her (she does not seem to like them either, he adds). And she has demonstrated that a political leader needn't be popular to be effective. Photos.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Young, a columnist for The Guardian , has written the first essential biography of Britain's Prime Minister Thatcher. He has produced a fair-minded but critical account of a politician with a "driving sense of mission" who brought together "a cadre of like-minded people who would, with her, change the face of the Conservative Party and at the same time launch the recovery of Britain." He describes her confrontations with the trade unions, the IRA, the Argentine junta, and critics inside and outside her own party. This book complements Peter Riddell's The Thatcher Government (Basil Blackwell, 1986, 2d. ed.) and Andrew Gamble's The Free Economy and the Strong State (Duke Univ. Pr., 1988). A best seller in Britain, this should appeal to readers interested in European politics, the emergence of the New Right, and women in politics.
- Kent Worcester, Columbia Univ.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Noonday Pr (November 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374522510
• ISBN-13: 978-0374522513
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #774,473 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Biography, July 11, 2003

By 

ufrh4 (Florida, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Iron Lady: A Biography of Margaret Thatcher (Hardcover)

There have been few women throughout history whose impact has been so great that they have caused an era to carry their name. In the case of Queen Elizabeth I, the Elizabethian Age was followed several hundred years later by the Victorian Age of Queen Victoria, only to give way in time to Margaret Thatcher and "Thatcherism."

Margaret Thatcher was truly a unique politician--not simply for the fact that she became the first female to head a western democracy, but because she was truly skilled and resolved in the art of politics.

Margaret Thatcher was born into politics. The child of an alderman, she served under Harold Macmillan and in the government of Edward Heath.

Her view of government and her rise to power mirrored, in many ways, the acension of Ronald Reagan in the United States. And, indeed, theirs is considered on the of the closest political alliances in history. Her view of smaller government, whatever the readers point of view, clicked with what England needed after years of shifting towards a socialist system. She was keen on privatization and lowering taxes. Something, that although cases could be made either way, certainly worked for her in 1980's Great Britian.

The book also points out her outspoken opposition to communism, thus earning her the title "iron lady." Young takes care to highlight her brilliance as a visionary, her willingness to restore British pride by refusing to give up the Falkands, and her resolve in not giving one inch of ground in her belief that the democratic, free enterprise system was superior.

This is truly a great book for all who are interested in the end of the Cold War and for those who wish to study the conservative "revolution" that struck the West in the 1980's.

14 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best biography of Mrs Thatcher, June 28, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Iron Lady: A Biography of Margaret Thatcher (Paperback)

For Anglophiles and serious students of modern British politics and economics, this is almost surely the best full-length biography of Margaret Thatcher that has been written thus far. Young concisely summarises the major events in Thatcher's career and provides sharp analyses of her personality and policies (eg, the effect on her of her class background, her closeness to Britain's Jewish community, etc). One wishes that he had written more about the economy, but since Young (who recently died) was a political journalist, his focus is understandably on politics. Especially good are the thumbnail sketches of the other major figures of Thatcherism -- Norman Tebbit, Nigel Lawson, Lord Young, etc.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Knickers from Marks & Spencer, October 23, 2005

By 

Joseph Haschka (Glendale, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

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This review is from: The Iron Lady: A Biography of Margaret Thatcher (Paperback)

"Whoever won a battle under the banner 'I Stand for Consensus'?" - Margaret Thatcher

Hugo Young's THE IRON LADY covers virtually all of Thatcher's political career, beginning with her election to Parliament as the Member from Finchley in 1959. (Trivia question: What was Thatcher's university degree? Answer: Chemistry) While the book certainly includes Margaret's ventures onto the world stage - the Falklands conflict being the foremost example - and her relationship with other political giants of the time, principally Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, the bulk of THE IRON LADY is confined to the UK's domestic issues. And, except for one reference to an interview with the PM in which she announced that her underclothes came from Marks & Spencer, the tone of the narrative is humorless verging on dour. For this reason, I can't say I enjoyed the volume. My completion of it, simply out of a sense of duty and the desire to learn about one of the great figures of 20th century British politics, literally took weeks. It's a book one can easily put down for lighter fare without guilt or qualm.

The material for this political bio was extensively researched. Therefore, I have to believe that the author, willing to spend so much time on the project, must at least respect, if not grudgingly admire, Thatcher's political achievements. I say "grudgingly" because it came across, at least to me, that Young didn't like his subject at all, a lack of personal affection shared, the author concludes, by the British electorate at large.

My main complaint is that THE IRON LADY is too comprehensive. It dedicates more than an adequate amount of print to the personalities, careers, and philosophies of other figures in Margaret's political life, both before an during her administrations. As an example, there was one interminable section on an information-leakage scandal involving British defense contractor Westland and rival Cabinet Ministers Heseltine and Brittan that was mind-numbingly arcane. Young's purpose was, I gather, to make a point about Thatcher's deviousness. My point is that a hundred pages of the book could've, and should've, been lopped off.

Regardless of its shortcomings, THE IRON LADY is, in the absence of more engaging versions, an excellent source of knowledge on its subject. It is, perhaps, compulsory reading for any student of Margaret Thatcher's three terms as British Prime minister, from 1979 to 1990, even though it leaves off (with an Epilogue) in 1989, when the book was published, the year before Thatcher relinquished leadership of Her Majesty's Government and the Conservative Party to John Major. (Major is given only two passing mentions near the end of the 564-page text.) So, a reluctant 4 stars up from 3.