Customer Reviews

Thatcher and Thatcherism (The Making of the Contemporary World)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Evans has created a highly enjoyable, briskly-paced and accessible summary of the Iron Lady's rise, fall and legacy. As someone who was only a child during the Thatcher years, the book gave excellent background and context to the election of the Thatcher government and the Britain she inherited and governed. The book is also effective at critically evaluating some of the myths around this archetypal 'conviction politician'. Overall, the picture, well-painted, is of a pragmatic - if ideologically-assured - politician whose impeccable instincts seemingly deserted her towards the end of her reign. (This Australian reader cannot help but make comparisons with our own former prime minister, John Howard, in that respect.)

Where the book is less successful is in the evaluation of Thatcher's key policies through her reign. While not actively hostile, Evans displays something of a bias. For example, he appears to dismiss privatisation as a policy failure without really explaining why - desperate references are even made to 'grotesque' salaries! The book is also littered with references to 'market forces' being unleashed, with the implication, or in some cases explicit assertion, that these 'forces' have had a range of negative impacts on the 'losers' from reform. While an elegant and attractive narrative (to some), it is never really established that Thatcherite reforme genuinely caused the growth in social inequality that Evans so dislikes. Indeed, Thatcher's abiding interest in promoting economic prosperity appears to irk Evans in and of itself. This culminates in a ridiculous final paragraph that makes the author appear just like the old school Tory grandees whose snobbery he earlier mocks.

While it has faults, Evans book deserves a qualified recommendation. For those of an anti-Thatcher, left-wing disposition, it will provide some superficially credible amunition. For those who aren't, it is a good primer on one of our times' remarkable personalities, but nothing more.

I enjoyed getting to read this book, as it gave me an interesting viewpoint into the background of Thatcher and her policies. This was a great way to get a glimpse of the British political system. The luck that she saw with the start of the Falklands war forever changed British history. Though there is no way of knowing for sure, it is quite possible that the privatization of industry would never have reached the levels that it sees today and that the UK would look much more like the rest of Europe.

In addition, the Third Way of Clinton and Blair that came as a response to the policies of Reagan and Thatcher would not have had to been so drastic. Makes one think.

"Thatcher and Thatcherism" is the definitive analysis of the Premiership of Margaret Thatcher, arguably one of the greatest and prime ministers in British history. This analysis is highly recommended to readers researching or merely interested in that Thatcher years from 1979-1990 that changed Britain's international standing in the eyes of the world. Evans gives great insight into Thatcher's controversial economic policies of privatization, her stance on on integrated Europe, her quest to restore power and prestige to the British imperia psyche, and her leadership during the Cold War.

I recommend this book to anyone who is having trouble sleeping. It will knock you on your ass in 5 minutes flat. I also recommend this book to anyone who thinks that Margaret Thatcher is an interesting and complex woman. This book will prove, conclusively, that she is not. Aside from the vaguely disturbing cover art and the blindingly small type, this slim volume also boasts one of those odd, opaque covers that somehow attracts all the oil from your fingertips so that by the time you've been reading it for the 4.5 minutes before you begin to nod off, it looks as if you've used it to distil olive oil for purity. If this is an isolated, personal problem, then forget everything I've said above, and make a series of general judgements about greasy people who just don't "get" The Thatch.