Sound Bite
This biography of Lady Thatcher relates in warm detail the life of Margaret Thatcher, her achievements as British Prime Minister, and her life since retirement. Written in a vigorous, no-nonsense style, Lady Thatcher provides a succinct portrait of the Iron Lady, illustrating what the terms 'Thatcherite' and 'Thatcherism' really mean. Blundell shows why Thatcher was such an outstanding world leader and such an inspiration for women leaders in particular.
The book begins with contrasting scenes ' the desolation of Britain in the 1978-9 'Winter of Discontent' prior to Thatcher's premiership, and the economic buoyancy and national self-confidence that prevailed by the end of her period in office 11 �½ years later. The body of the text provides a chronological, strongly narrative treatment of Thatcher's life, from childhood through to current times.
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
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.
|
About the Book
This book is John Blundell's 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...
This book is John Blundell's 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.
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. As the Iron Lady said, herself, John is very well placed to explain to Americans the beliefs and principles which underpinned what became known as "Thatcherism".
|
Part I : THE ROAD TO DOWNING STREET 1. Childhood 2. University 3. Starting Out 4. Elected 5. Opposition 6.
Part I : THE ROAD TO DOWNING STREET 1. Childhood 2. University 3. Starting Out 4. Elected 5. Opposition 6. Education 7. Reflection 8. Becoming Leader 9. Leading the Opposition 10. Winning Power Part II : GETTING THE JOB DONE 11. Liberating The Economy 12. Privatizing The Commanding Heights 13. Selling Off Public Housing 14. Going To War 15. Beating The Miners 16. Reforming The Unions 17. Battling The IRA 18. Friendship with America 19. Kicking Down The Wall 20. Dealing With Brussels Part III : THE NEXT TWO DECADES 21. Resignation 22. In Retirement 23. Family: Denis, Carol, Mark 24. Men: Alf, Keith, Ronald, Alfred, Alan, Ralph 25. Ten Lessons 26. Margaret In Interview I. Timeline including all of MargaretÃ??'s elections II. British General Elections 1945 Ã??' 2005 III. Sources and Further Reading
|
More . . .
USA Today� As Margaret Thatcher's legacy shows, historic firsts don't have a quick second... by John Blundell USA TODAY� � � 6:28p.m. EST � � � � � � January 17, 2013
"Waiting for the second black president"
In a few days, America's first black president will be inaugurated for a second term. It is a major moment in history that we won't likely see repeated in most people's lifetimes. Leadership seconds rarely come hard on the heels...
USA Today� As Margaret Thatcher's legacy shows, historic firsts don't have a quick second... by John Blundell USA TODAY� � � 6:28p.m. EST � � � � � � January 17, 2013
"Waiting for the second black president"
In a few days, America's first black president will be inaugurated for a second term. It is a major moment in history that we won't likely see repeated in most people's lifetimes. Leadership seconds rarely come hard on the heels of transformational leadership firsts.
About five years ago, I asked Margaret Thatcher: "Lady T, are you more proud of being the first lady prime minister (of the United Kingdom) or the first scientist to hold that position?" The former chemist, then just turned 80, fired back: "Oh scientist, definitely scientist."
But Margaret's success ' a double first ' has not led to a tsunami. True, she shattered barriers, but other women and other scientists have been slow to follow. In subsequent decades, British women have for the first time served in two of the country's four top jobs, but they have had little impact and have never come close to repeating as prime minister. And as for Margaret's other first, scientists have done no better. Scientist David Davis, a member of Parliament, lost the battle for leadership of the U.K.'s Conservative Party to non-scientist David Cameron MP, now the prime minister.
John F. Kennedy's role
Fifty years ago, John F. Kennedy overcame long-held prejudice to serve as America's first Catholic president. Since then John Kerry, the Democratic candidate for the presidency in 2004, has been the only Catholic to come close, though Catholics have been vice president, including the current one, Joe Biden.
As important as matters of race, sex and religion are, the reason that barrier-breaking leaders tend not to have an immediate second act is that such leaders are often the right person at the right time for many reasons other than their race, sex or religion. Iconic writers such as Keynes and Marx respectively stressed the role of ideas and interests in politics, while others such as John Stewart Mill have focused on circumstances, or as the British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan once supposedly said, "Events, dear boy, events."
In the case of Thatcher, one can see all three at work. From her Methodist father, her voracious reading, and her interaction with think tanks such as the Institute of Economic Affairs, she had a coherent philosophy. Her union reforms, sales of public housing and privatization of large sectors of the economy aimed to weaken her enemies and build up the ranks of her backers. And circumstances often favored her, as when the Winter of Discontent, a period of broad union unrest in early 1979, turned a likely slim victory on a wimpy platform into a comfortable win on a much tougher set of policies. Then along came some bullies for her to discipline, namely Argentinean generals and British trade union leaders.
Competence over appearance
So, too, did Barack Obama benefit from many factors beyond his race ' a unique upbringing, a compelling rhetorical style, the desire of many Democrats not to have another Clinton in the White House and an electorate restless after eight years of Republican rule, as well as two wars the public had long lost patience with. Powerful leaders emerge because of many more forces than just surface features.
Such leaders seek those other characteristics in their subordinates as well. There are recent signs that President Obama prizes strong leadership, loyalty and competence above his own unique characteristic. He has been pummeled for weeks about the lack of diversity in his second-term Cabinet appointments, placing trusted and experienced white male after white male in positions of power.
To Margaret, being a woman was nowhere near as important to her as hard work and competence. There was only a single woman who briefly served in her Cabinet. The big joke, of course, was that only one person in the Cabinet wore trousers ' Margaret.
That does not mean these leaders don't change things. Today, German Chancellor Angela Merkel is the second most powerful person (not just woman) in the world. In the United States, with 103 women in Congress and gubernatorial mansions, it can't be long before one of them or their recent colleagues is the right person in the right place at the right time.
|
More Information
Margaret Thatcher, Meryl Streep, & The Iron Lady: Fact vs. Fiction
CLICK TO WATCH: Watch Reason.TV (About 5.30 minutes. Produced and edited by Meredith Bragg.)
"When I first heard of this movie," says John Blundell, "I immediately was a little worried because of Meryl Streep's own ideas and polices and so on that are very distinctly not Thatcherite."
As a longtime Margaret Thatcher ally, few people are in a better position than John Blundell to assess the veracity of the Oscar-nominated...
Margaret Thatcher, Meryl Streep, & The Iron Lady: Fact vs. Fiction
CLICK TO WATCH: Watch Reason.TV (About 5.30 minutes. Produced and edited by Meredith Bragg.)
"When I first heard of this movie," says John Blundell, "I immediately was a little worried because of Meryl Streep's own ideas and polices and so on that are very distinctly not Thatcherite."
As a longtime Margaret Thatcher ally, few people are in a better position than John Blundell to assess the veracity of the Oscar-nominated bio-pic, The Iron Lady. The former head of influential free-market organizations such as The Institute of Economic Affairs, The Institute for Humane Studies, and the Atlas Economic Research Foundation, Blundell is also the author of Margaret Thatcher: A Portrait of the Iron Lady (2007) and the new Ladies for Liberty: Women Who Made a Difference in American History.
On the eve of the 2012 Academy Awards ceremony, Blundell sat down with Reason.tv to discuss the controversy surrounding the film (which depicts its titular character in the throes of dementia), Streep's widely praised performance, and the continuing power of Thatcher's social and political legacy.
"I must admit," he says, "to being pleasantly surprised. I think overall Margaret comes out of this process with her reputation enhanced and, of course, Meryl Streep's reputation hugely enhanced."
(Visit http://www.reason.tv for downloadable versions)
|
- Edwin Meese III, former US Attorney General | More »
- Edwin Meese III, former US Attorney General
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.
- Rt Hon David Davis MP, Shadow Home Secretary for the Conservative Party (UK) | More »
- Rt Hon David Davis MP, Shadow Home Secretary for the Conservative Party (UK)
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.
Book News
This is a hagiographic 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.
(Annotation ©2009 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
British Politics Group Quarterly Winter 2010 | More »
British Politics Group Quarterly Winter 2010
John Blundell, the Director-General of the Institute of Economic Affairs in London, has written a very personal biography of Margaret Thatcher. At first glance, the book appears to be of the hagiographical variety. Blundell is a Conservative party activist.… The book will help laypersons (non-political types) understand how politicians build coalitions and engage in grassroots work (including through campus politics, as we would call it in the United States.)
… We learn from Blundell that Mrs. Thatcher saw herself as a scientist, lawyer, and politician. She took great pride in being the first scientist premier, having worked in scientific research after taking a chemistry degree at Somerville College, Oxford. She was always cognizant of being the first female premier…. He demonstrates she had an independent way of thinking as manifested in her late 1960s votes in the House of Commons in favor of lifting criminal sanctions on homosexuality, for loosening Britain's abortion laws, and against ending capital punishment (p 54).
For Americans, this book is distinctive in that since Blundell lived and worked in California during the bulk of the Thatcher 'era' in Britain , he takes great care to explain even minor differences between the two governing systems… but the book could have provided a bit more balance in terms of weighing her legacy versus Tony Blair's or it could have looked at the failures of Thatcherism in light of its triumphs. Blundell makes little pretence of academic objectivity, but still manages to present a very readable, fair, and straightforward biography that is informative and easy to read. Students and faculty might find it useful in understanding how electioneering, party recruitment and development occur (in Tory politics), and some details of Mrs. Thatcher's political life: her thought process, her triumphs, and how her ultimate downfall took place during her years of leadership in the United Kingdom.
Kurt W Jefferson, Westminster College
|
|
Pages 196 Year: 2008 LC Classification: DA591.T47B58 Dewey code: 941.085'8092--dc22 BISAC: BIO011000 BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Presidents & Heads of State BISAC: BIO022000 BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Women BISAC: HIS015000 HISTORY / Europe / Great Britain
Soft Cover ISBN: 978-0-87586-630-7
Price: USD 24.95
Hard Cover ISBN: 978-0-87586-631-4
Price: USD 34.95
eBook ISBN: 978-0-87586-632-1
Price: USD 24.95
|