There Is No Alternative: Why Margaret Thatcher Matters [Paperback]

Claire Berlinski (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 24, 2010

This is a smart, opinionated appreciation of the woman who rescued Great Britain from Socialism and proved that American-style conservatism could work around the world. Great Britain in the 1970s appeared to be in terminal decline - ungovernable and rapidly headed for global economic irrelevance. Three decades later, it is one of the richest and most influential countries in Europe and, argues Claire Berlinski, Margaret Thatcher should be given all the credit. As Britain's Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990, Thatcher championed- and won-a full range of conservative initiatives: she privatised state-owned industries, curbed the power of labour unions, reduced the welfare state and reversed a culture of dependency. As journalist and conservative pundit Claire Berlinski shows, Thatcher's transformation of Britain was no simple task. Her jarring economic reforms often came at a high human cost as inefficient subsidies, welfare programmes, and industries were abandoned entirely. While Thatcher's legacy is mixed, Berlinski argues that we should ultimately be on her side. The struggles of Great Britain in the 1980s remain vitally relevant as Britain, Europe, America and the world cope with increasing calls for welfare spending. Socialism is on the rise and only those countries willing to do what Thatcher did will prevail. "There Is No Alternative" provides a valuable account of Margaret Thatcher's visionary triumphs in the fight between free enterprise and its enemies.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"(Claire) Berlinski shows commitment and energy as an author, beside an ability to wheedle great men into telling her things they might not have vouchsafed to anybody else... Her encounters with Neil Kinnock are tactical masterpieces, where she draws the Welsh windbag out and then deflates his woolly thinking with as much cool, perhaps cruel, precision as Thatcher herself did." Scotland on Sunday "often entertaining and sometimes illuminating... Berlinski's assessment of Lady Thatcher's economic record is balanced. She does not take at face value the claim that Lady Thatcher single-handedly reversed Britain's economic and geopolitical decline - and says she is 'not sure that it has been permanently reversed.' This turns out to be a wise caveat in the current climate, which she was unaware of while writing... There will be many books on Lady Thatcher this year, the 30th anniversary of her coming to power. (There is No Alternative) is an idiosyncratic and interesting contribution." The Financial Times"

About the Author

Since receiving her Ph.D. in international relations from Oxford University, Claire Berlinski has lived and worked in Britain, Thailand, Laos, France and Turkey as a journalist and freelance consultant. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The New York Sun, The Oxford International Review, Asia Times, The Weekly Standard, The National Review, Policy Review, Travelers' Tales, and elsewhere. She lives in Paris and Istanbul. www.berlinski.com

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 16 and up
  
• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books; First Trade Paper Edition edition (August 24, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0465020275
• ISBN-13: 978-0465020270
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #127,632 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #29 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Leaders & Notable People > U.K. Prime Ministers

More About the Author

Claire Berlinski is a freelance investigative journalist, travel writer, biographer, and novelist who lives in Istanbul. She is the author of Menace in Europe: Why the Continent's Crisis is America's, Too, and There is No Alternative: Why Margaret Thatcher Matters, which Newt Gingrich said "every American should read" and Theodore Darymple described as "about as powerful a defense of Thatcher's record as is likely ever to be written."

Her journalism has been published in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, First Post, theOxford International Review, The American, Asia Times, the Globe and Mail, the New York Sun, the Weekly Standard, National Review, Policy Review, Penthouse, Radio Free Europe, World Affairs Journal, Azure, Traveler's Tales, Travel & Leisure, and Arabies Trends. She is also the author of two spy novels and a frequent guest on local and international radio talk shows.

Since receiving a degree in Modern History and a doctorate in international relations from Oxford University, she has lived and worked in Britain, Thailand, Laos, France, and Turkey.

She devotes her spare time to rescuing stray animals, studying the martial arts, and sharing hand-to-hand combat tips on the Internet.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

68 of 71 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Biography of Iron Lady, October 17, 2008

By 

Eric D. Barnes "Inmate" (Kinston, NC USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: There Is No Alternative: Why Margaret Thatcher Matters (Hardcover)

Ms. Berlinski has written an excellent biography of one of the 20th Century's most important and intriguing political figures. She focuses on five main themes: the struggles of Great Britain in the 1970's prior to her election; the Falklands' conflict; Thatcher's relationship with (male) politicians; the miner's strike and her political downfall. The author uses transcripts of interviews she conducted with former cabinet officials, advisors and political adversaries of Mrs. Thatcher. The book is also footnoted, so that the reader can get more information from the sources used.

Not only were there interviews with politicians and government officials, but there were also interviews with people affected by Mrs. Thatcher's policies. For example, the author interviews wealthy Britons in the banking and restaurant businesses who have profited greatly from England's economic resurgence. Moreover, she interviews three former coal miners who lost their job when Thatcher defeated the union and basically ended Britain's inefficient coal industry.

From this biography, I was able to understand why Thatcher matters. She resurrected the pride of Great Britain, which had struggled with socialism, strikes and inefficiency for decades. Britain's economy is now the largest in Europe. Moreover, she restored Britain's standing in the world by reclaiming the Falkland Islands and along with the US, helping to defeat communism.

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An absolutely fascinating look at Mrs. Thatcher, March 15, 2009

By 

Kurt A. Johnson (North-Central Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: There Is No Alternative: Why Margaret Thatcher Matters (Hardcover)

In this fascinating book, author Dr. Claire Berlinski puts Margaret Thatcher under the microscope. Starting with a quick examination of her youthful experiences, she then moves onto an in-depth study of Mrs. Thatcher as she moved through her political career. The author quotes extensively from people whom she worked with, and against. She explains what Margaret Thatcher did and why, and examined what it tells about Mrs. Thatcher the woman.

I must say that I found this to be an absolutely fascinating look at Mrs. Thatcher. I think that the author did a great job of really giving the reader an understanding of what made the Iron Lady tick - what she thought of women, socialism, supporters and detractors. In many ways this is a biography of the great woman, but it is so much more than that.

So, let me just say that if you want to really understand Margaret Thatcher, then you really must get this excellent book. I highly recommend it!

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thatcher Matters---and Not Churchill in 2010, August 27, 2010

By 

David Thomson "Second Rate Eric Hoffer Imitator" (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: There Is No Alternative: Why Margaret Thatcher Matters (Hardcover)

The title somewhat confused me when the book initially came out in 2008. I failed to sense the impending worldwide crisis now threatening the economies of the Western World. It is now two years later---and Claire Berlinski has turned me into a total convert. Margaret Thatcher clearly understood the benefits of the free market. She realized that any compromise with members of the Labor Party or the squishy moderates within her own party hurts the British citizenry. The woman was not for bending. Thatcher committed herself to achieving her goals regardless of the costs. She would push aside and irritate in countless other ways anyone who got in her way. Thatcher was not known for always being gentle. Winston Churchill was a wartime prime minister. He never got to serve during peacetime. Thatcher is therefore the role model for today's challenges.

The author interviewed individuals who were not hesitant in revealing Thatcher as a strong willed lady that may have even occasionally rubbed them the wrong way. France's Francois Mitterrand even described her as "Brigitte Bardot with Caligula's eyes." She was also born and raised in modest middle class surroundings---and the elites never forgave her. One is also readily reminded of the friction between the American Sarah Palin and her big government Republican detractors. Mrs. Thatcher worked closely together with President Ronald Reagan to defeat the Soviet Union. This same sort of focus and vision is currently needed to combat Islamic extremism. Claire Berlinski has successfully made her case. The title of the book says it all. Margaret Thatcher still matters and there is no alternative. Great Britain is experiencing an existential crisis that may destroy its democratic institutions. Can it find another Thatcher before it is too late?