This massive-almost nine hundred pages-book is an almost day by day, detailed record of her ten- and one-half years in office. It is an amazing record of battles won and lost, almost impossible accomplishments set against her own country’s deep state, bureaucracy, entrenched interests and ossified political thinking. Her record of successes on the foreign front is also detailed as she fought for the primary interests of her nation against European neighbors by reducing uneven payments (in short, cutting welfare payments to France, Germany, etc.), a successful war with Argentina, leading the way in punishing Iraq for its invasion of Kuwait, etc. Plain spoken, sure of her goals, she was, in my opinion, a pre-tweet version of Donald Trump.
When she assumed office, her nation was wallowing in a recession caused by decades of strong unions, low productivity, nationalized industries, and lack of vision. Her goal was to revitalize the U.K. by undoing the socialized policies which had inhibited individual initiative, and corporate drive. In this, she would fight throughout her tenure and was successful to a degree unimagined by most Brits.
Unlike other memoirs of national leaders, I have read, the attention to detail makes one feel that they are at many of the international conferences, domestic policy meetings, etc. It can be daunting due to the detail, the mass of abbreviations for government agencies, programs, etc. (there are nearly 90 detailed over four pages for the readers reference). While we tend to think of the U.K.s political parties to be tightly controlled, the book shows that she had to constantly win support for her policies from a Tory party that was not used to power and had come to accept many of the socialist ideas which clouded their thinking, and which were so destructive to the economy.
While working on changing the mindset of the Brits, she faced the terrorism of the IRA which was all but openly supported by the Irish Republic. IRA terrorists would cross into Northern Ireland or the rest of the U.K., commit their terrorist acts and then scuttle back to the Irish Republic with little fear of retribution. Finally, she had to break the power of the numerous unions, many of which received funds from Libya’s Gaddafi and the Soviet Union.
She is amazingly honest in her opinions of both British leaders, many in her own party, and foreign leaders. We are taken behind closed doors in her discussions with French and German leaders, members of the Commonwealth, Soviet leader Gorbachev and her dealings with the United States. She clearly believed that Ronald Reagan was primarily responsible for the demise of the Soviet Union and had great respect not only for his willingness to listen to other opinions, but also in his strategic strategy. Her disappointment in President Bush’s pivot to the German/French alliance away from the U.K. is clear.
This is by no means a light read, especially if the reader is not familiar some of the personalities, the mindset of the times and events, but it is a fantastic look behind the curtain of power that I have not found from others of her ilk. She is still reviled by many Brits who did suffer from her closing of unproductive mines and factories, but she saved the nation from becoming a minor player whose only future was remembering the past. Her drive revitalized the economy, increased home ownership, individual investment in the market and individual responsibility. She was the right person at the right place at the right time and should be an example for other national leader to follow.
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