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The Path to Power
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Product Description
Margaret Thatcher's government was, she says, about the application of a philosophy, not the implementation of an administrative programme. These ideas and beliefs were propelled throughout her time in office by a forcefulness and conviction, particularly in critical moments in her premiership - the Falklands War, the miner's strike, the Brighton bomb and her three election victories. In the second volume of her memoirs, following "The Downing Street Years", she reveals the inspiration behind many of her philosophies. She discusses the formative years of her childhood in Grantham, the values she learnt at home, the profound influence of her shopkeeeping father, and of her own schooling on future Conservative education policies. She recounts her days at Oxford, her academic work as a scientist, marriage to Dennis, and the beginning of her career as a politician when in 1959 she was selected to stand at Finchley. She gives her views on the governments of Harold Macmillan, Alec Douglas-Home, Harold Wilson, Edward Heath and Jim Callaghan, and sets out the development of her ideas during her time in opposition.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #1054796 in Books
- Published on: 1995-01
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Hardcover
- 656 pages
Editorial Reviews
From Library Journal
Following The Downing Street Years (LJ 1/94), Thatcher reflects on her youth.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Previously, the retired British prime minister wrote--and wrote pugnaciously--about her long tenure in the premiership in The Downing Street Years (1993). Now Thatcher fills in, chronologically speaking, by writing about her life prior to becoming prime minister and after she left office and does so, perhaps, even more self-righteously. Born "over the shop" (her father's grocery, that is) in 1925 in Grantham, England, Thatcher was raised in a household "practical, serious and intensely religious." Those qualities became her qualities, and by the time she got to Oxford, she recognized politics as her calling. She threw her hat into the ring early, running for Parliament when only in her twenties. By nature conservative, she was by enlistment a Conservative. The path by which she became head of that party and then prime minister is traced in typical Thatcher fashion: her narrative is opinionated, self-assured, and, as the reader has to admit, well reasoned. Expect the same heavy demand by serious readers of politics and history as the first volume garnered. Brad Hooper
From the Publisher
In her international bestseller, The Downing Street Years, Margaret Thatcher provided an acclaimed account of her years as Prime Minister. This second volume reflects on the early years of her life and how they influenced her political career.
Customer Reviews
A road less travelled...
In this book, the prequel to her more successful (and essentially more interesting) volume entitled 'The Downing Street Years', Margaret Thatcher gives us a glimpse into her life, and the events and people who shaped her, basically, who made her who she is.
You'll learn about her time at university, her early days in politics from a personal standpoint (for instance, she used to do her own ironing to press dresses immediately before going out, as she couldn't afford to have them pressed, and other small details like this abound), early days in the government and then leading up to the time in opposition prior to the elections of 1979.
Thatcher also adds a postscript to this book, completed after the account of her time as Prime Minister, in which she gives her prescriptions for a better Britain and Europe (in some ways, she might agree that her stance on the Eurocurrency is a la Nancy Reagan, i.e., 'Just say No!'). She has a few swipes at John Major, the man she helped into power, perhaps hoping to be able to be an active and effective agent from behind the scenes. Major retaliates a bit in his own autobiography.
In all, unless you're REALLY into British politics or Thatcher personally, this book could be easily missed. Read 'The Downing Street Years', and, as I've seen you can often pick this book up for some bargain-bin price, buy it so as to have the set. And you might peruse a chapter here and there.
It does have a good style of writing, but goes on quite a bit. Historians will appreciate it, but I often wonder if politicians think that most will actually read through all this material, considering they are invariably written when the author is off the centre stage?
A Decent Memoir
A Decent Memoir, June 28, 2004
This was a decent read, though I think that Lady Thatcher hastily wrote it as a prequel to the more celebrated "Downing Street Years." That being said, it was interesting to read about her rise from backbencher to Conservative Party leader. In grabbing the reigns of Tory leadership, she toppled a mindset that accepted Britain's economic decline as being part of "the natural order of things." She also offers insights on the European and international scenes during the middle to late 1970s. On this, she criticized the idea of detente as being a recipe for disaster. The memoir ends with Britain's so-called Winter of Discontent, which propelled her into Downing Street.
Fascinating tale from a remarkable woman
How did a young woman from nowhere (Thatcher describes her childhood background in the kindest way possible but it was the last place you'd expect to find greatness) rise to become a politician and then Prime Minister of Great Britain? Baroness Thatcher tells the story of her life with humor and restraint. She never uses being a woman as a crutch or excuse and although she obviously loved her husband and children the main focus of the book is what was going on in her head. Tough, stubborn and bold she slowly pushes forward through school, through a legal career, through the back benches and finally when the chance for the highest office in the land comes her way she pounces on it.
Path to Power is excellent reading for those who find Parliment to be incomprehensible, for those who wonder if an American woman can ever be another Thatcher and for those who simply like a Horatio Alger story. Now, is it a bit dry? Yep, it certainly is but you didn't really expect gooey girl talk from Margaret Thatcher, did you?
