One of Us: Life of Margaret Thatcher [Hardcover]

There are funny anecdotes, revelations and well-worn tales in this book, but the thing that distinguishes it is the insight into Mrs Thatcher's thought processes. The title of the book, One Of Us, is taken from Mrs T's philosophy that people fell into two camps, those who wholeheartedly embraced her ideas and policies, and those who did not. The latter group were considered disloyal or not quite up to it, and could not be trusted with important jobs.

The practical side of Mrs Thatcher however saw that she DID occasionally populate her cabinets with ministers who were not 'yes men', independently minded people like Michael Heseltine or Keith Speed. Here, Hugo Young explains how Mrs Thatcher embraced the complexities of keeping different factions in the conservative party happy. All this contributed to her retaining the reins of power longer for eleven years.

A good companion to Mrs Thatcher's own memoirs, and markedly more objective.

Brimming with detail, the book is also mercifully short on the very tired and oft-repeated parts of the Thatcher story, and so not a page is wasted. The thing about the book that impressed me most was the clear use of interviews with the key figures involved very wisely. This produces some very memorable anecdotes that sum up perfectly the philosophy and feelings of Margaret Thatcher. Most are neither witty nor amusing, as are most in biographies, but they are extremely revealing and enable one to get inside the heads of those who served her, those who opposed her and the lady herself to see their beliefs, dilemmas and situations. The account of the cabinet debate that finally replaced the decades-old priority of low unemployment with that of low inflation is all the more gripping and dramatic because it continues to affect us all today. The illustration of the confidence Thatcher instilled in her MPs by tearing Michael Foot's argument to pieces with masses of statistical knowledge similarly enables the reader to better appreciate the mindsets of those around her. Along with an impressive narrative which delves deep into the events of the time, a close to complete picture of Thatcher and her government emerges.

Of course, study of the Thatcher years is inseparable from study of her legacy, and the final chapter looks at this exclusively, making it the best in the book, packed with facts and observations.

It is in how he turns statistics, anecdotes and information into a narrative that the biographer's skill is revealed. To insert one's own views throughout is a post on which many fall, but Young surpasses. An authoritative account of an immensely important and interesting figure is the result.