Customer Reviews

Margaret Thatcher: The Authorized Biography, Volume One: Not For Turning (Vol 1)

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It's probably helpful to say at the start that my political views are very different from those of Margaret Thatcher and, from what I know of his journalism, Charles Moore. However, I take my hat off to Mr. Moore for a first-class biography (well, Volume One, anyway) that is worthy of the importance of its subject.

I was hopeful of a good biography, based on the author's journalism, but was conscious that he hadn't written a book before. It is to the credit of Margaret Thatcher and those around her that Charles Moore was chosen for this task and given such freedom (to a degree that is highly unusual in an authorised biography). Yes, he's clearly an admirer of Mrs. Thatcher. However, he brings his trademark independence of mind to the role. Once one accepts the glaring and inevitable Conservative political bias (with a big gulp, in my case), one finds his judgements invariably both thoughtful and thought-provoking. We get a wealth of detail that both humanises and deepens his subject, but he doesn't shy away from less positive aspects of Thatcher's character and actions. There is also an admirable humility in his frequent tendency to leave the reader to make up their own mind about so much of what he reveals. This occasionally applies even when those revelations are jaw-dropping.

The diligence in research is impressive. There are some elements of luck, such as the treasure-trove of letters from Margaret Thatcher to her older sister. However, often one makes one's luck through persistence and hard work. The writing is rarely as good as Mr. Moore's journalism, but that's understandable given that he's writing in a (for him) new and more tightly-constrained format. The occasional infelicity, repetition and typo doesn't detract from a fluid and engaging narrative. I even enjoyed the occasional sly flashes of humour. I've read other Thatcher biographies (along with many other political biographies) and yet here I learned much that was new and encountered fresh perspectives on key events. I came away feeling well rewarded for my time. Volume One is as good as I could have expected. I'm looking forward to Volume Two.

I won't pretend I have read it all yet. I only acquired my copy last night (at the launch party). But I have read enough to be confident that this is a masterpiece. I can't think of any biography published so soon after its subject's death which is anywhere near as thorough, objective and well written as this book is.

A lot of the credit has to be given to Lady Thatcher herself. No other modern politician would have done as she did. She asked Charles Moore to write her biography as long ago as 1997. She allowed him access to all her papers. She told all her friends (and her political enemies) that they could speak freely to him. She made only two conditions. First, the book could not be published until after her death. Second, she was not prepared to read any of it. So an authorized biography of a leading politician would be written by an author who knew he could say what he actually thought without having to worry about what his subject would make of it.

The result is astounding. Yes, of course, Moore is mostly sympathetic to Lady Thatcher. He is on her side. But he sees her faults, and doesn't shrink from writing about them. This is definitely not the work of a sycophant. It is a scholarly review of the life of a controversial stateswoman with, as one of her former colleagues put it to me last night, "warts and all".

One of the things which struck me most was how beautifully written the book is. It is not usual to describe a political biography as being a page-turner. But Moore's biography is just that. It is very difficult to put it down. The prose is incredibly easy to read, and one wants to go on reading it: to see what happens next.

The sad thing is that we will almost certainly have to wait too long for the second volume. Thatcher's later years as Prime Minister were, I reckon, even more interesting than the earlier ones. I long to know what Moore makes of those later years. But I must be patient.

In the meantime, I have no hesitation in commending this book to you. It is truly remarkably good.

Charles

P.S. I have now read a lot more (bought it for Kindle to help me). My opinion remains unchanged.

A great book, which reveals previously unkonwn facts about Margaret Thatcher. After reading the book you get a much better understanding of Thatcher as a person.

Margaret Thatcher polarized opinion. Sadly, I doubt very much if this excellent biography of her will alter that.
The comments by her opponents, including politicians, in the week before her burial were in many cases utterly disgraceful, some obscene. Many of the critics not only had not been born at the time she was in power, they were clearly ignorant of history.
Many on the Left had apparently forgotten that, for example, Jim Callaghan had told the Labour Conference in 1976 that the cozy days of full employment were over,and that Tony Blair said in 2005 that the likes of Jack Jones, and Michael Foot had been unwilling to change. If they had he said the 'pain that followed would have been less'. Anyone who is still unsure about the state of this country in the mid seventies should read the articles by Seagrove. he described, for example, Wigan and Bradford as akin to places in the early 19th century. He also gave details of the closure of mines and the social consequencies of this some 5 years before Margaret Thatcher entered No 10.
The key to understanding Thatcherism is that she came to power when the country was on its knees-even the dead could not be buried. Union barons were behaving like out of control bullies. Few had any toys left in their prams. Their behaviour was disgraceful, Jack Jones (the 'Emperor') even took hefty sums of money from the KGB. Marxism was common among their ranks although I doubt if any had read a wordd of the failed prophet.
She wanted above all privatization in order to spread the security of ownership. She believed that Britain could become a nation of owners. She hated, as did many and with good reason, corporatism, labour militancy and socialism-she had a deep repugnance for the collective. Removing these was for her more important than the free market. In so doing there is no doubt that many suffered. But as Lenin said you can't make an omelette without breaking eggs. Those who argue that she should have done more to help, say, the miners never say how or where was the money coming from. Also, as one miner had the honesty to say it was not easy to find suitable jobs for ex miners.
Charles Moore's book could not be published until Margaret Thatcher had died. We could,therefore, have been denied this excellent book for many more years.
The strength of Vol 1 is its objectivity. Moore loves and admires while exposing her faults-incidentally could her detractors name a PM who did not have faults?
Moore describes Lady Thatcher as a sort of 'stage-door Johnny for the ideas of others-admiring, overexcited'. In other words she was no intellectual.
His description of her upbringing, love of father and a lot less than love for her mother is not new. We learn she had three serious boyfriends before Dennis and of her obsession with clothes and appearance.
The book is easy to read, elegant in style, the detail exact. Vol 1 ends with the victory in the Falklands, a victory we should remember achieved against the advice of some of her military advisers.They willingly however basked in the glory of victory.
This book is highly recommended together with those recently published by the former diplomat Robin Renwick-he focuses more on her foreign policy, and Robin Harris who was an adviser from 1985. His book pulls no punches about some key Conservative politicians. All three are superb. They are the most objective biographies of an outstanding politician yet published. Hagiographies these are not.
As President Reagan said 'Isn't she wonderful'.
Many men in all parties disliked Margaret for reasons other than politics, namely she was a woman, and because she WON.

She was amazing and faced the enormous and difficult tasks she encountered with bravery and perserverance. On the night of her first victory she shook the hand of a friend of mine and he commented "good luck mam" and she responded "luck will not come into it young man"