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Review
"'A well-written account of a complex period... one of the best introductions to the debate' - W.R. Garside, University of Birmingham; 'Strongly recommended to students... ideal as an accessible overview of Thatcherism.' - Lisa Harrison, University of the West of England"
Product Description
Drawing extensively on political memoirs, Thatcher and Thatcherism surveys the origins and impact of 'Thatcherism' as a cultural construct and an economic creed.
Focusing on the career of Margaret Thatcher, Eric J. Evans proposes that the ideological coherence and originality of 'Thatcherism' was illusory. He argues that 'Thatcherism' was a bold experiment in ideologically driven government which failed to meet its main objectives.
He includes discussion of:
* privatization and the fate of the trade unions
* Britain's slow economic decline versus Thatcher's delusions of British grandeur
* the legacy of the Falklands and of Britain's approach to Europe
* education, the civil service, and crime.
* the contribution of the poll tax fiasco to her fall from power.
With full bibliography and explanation of the economic, social and historical context of Britain in the late 1970s and 80s, Thatcher and Thatcherism is an invaluable guide to the complexities and paradoxes of contemporary Britain.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
24 of 27 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book should be held up as the ultimate example of how to write a factual book that can apeal to the casual reader and to the serious scholar. Evans covers the major areas of Thatchers policy with a clear and concise commentary that puts many such books to shame. The book fascinated me and succeeded in putting to bed many myths but also confirming many things we had suspected about the iron lady. This book achieves alot in a relatively short amount of pages making it readable for all. A monumental achievement.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
this is a very good book for those wanting to understand more about the Thatcher era, mine is now completely covered in notes. Evans gives a clear yet detailed view on what happened, with suitable subtitles and clarity I haven't found in any of the other Thatcher books I've read of this ilk. If you like Thatcher, or are studying her, this is your book!
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4 reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
A readable but flawed book
2 Jan 2011
Format:Kindle Edition
Evans has created a highly enjoyable, briskly-paced and accessible summary of the Iron Lady's rise, fall and legacy. As someone who was only a child during the Thatcher years, the book gave excellent background and context to the election of the Thatcher government and the Britain she inherited and governed. The book is also effective at critically evaluating some of the myths around this archetypal 'conviction politician'. Overall, the picture, well-painted, is of a pragmatic - if ideologically-assured - politician whose impeccable instincts seemingly deserted her towards the end of her reign. (This Australian reader cannot help but make comparisons with our own former prime minister, John Howard, in that respect.)
Where the book is less successful is in the evaluation of Thatcher's key policies through her reign. While not actively hostile, Evans displays something of a bias. For example, he appears to dismiss privatisation as a policy failure without really explaining why - desperate references are even made to 'grotesque' salaries! The book is also littered with references to 'market forces' being unleashed, with the implication, or in some cases explicit assertion, that these 'forces' have had a range of negative impacts on the 'losers' from reform. While an elegant and attractive narrative (to some), it is never really established that Thatcherite reforme genuinely caused the growth in social inequality that Evans so dislikes. Indeed, Thatcher's abiding interest in promoting economic prosperity appears to irk Evans in and of itself. This culminates in a ridiculous final paragraph that makes the author appear just like the old school Tory grandees whose snobbery he earlier mocks.
While it has faults, Evans book deserves a qualified recommendation. For those of an anti-Thatcher, left-wing disposition, it will provide some superficially credible amunition. For those who aren't, it is a good primer on one of our times' remarkable personalities, but nothing more.
Where the book is less successful is in the evaluation of Thatcher's key policies through her reign. While not actively hostile, Evans displays something of a bias. For example, he appears to dismiss privatisation as a policy failure without really explaining why - desperate references are even made to 'grotesque' salaries! The book is also littered with references to 'market forces' being unleashed, with the implication, or in some cases explicit assertion, that these 'forces' have had a range of negative impacts on the 'losers' from reform. While an elegant and attractive narrative (to some), it is never really established that Thatcherite reforme genuinely caused the growth in social inequality that Evans so dislikes. Indeed, Thatcher's abiding interest in promoting economic prosperity appears to irk Evans in and of itself. This culminates in a ridiculous final paragraph that makes the author appear just like the old school Tory grandees whose snobbery he earlier mocks.
While it has faults, Evans book deserves a qualified recommendation. For those of an anti-Thatcher, left-wing disposition, it will provide some superficially credible amunition. For those who aren't, it is a good primer on one of our times' remarkable personalities, but nothing more.
Good book for information, but boring
5 July 2011
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
I enjoyed getting to read this book, as it gave me an interesting viewpoint into the background of Thatcher and her policies. This was a great way to get a glimpse of the British political system. The luck that she saw with the start of the Falklands war forever changed British history. Though there is no way of knowing for sure, it is quite possible that the privatization of industry would never have reached the levels that it sees today and that the UK would look much more like the rest of Europe.
In addition, the Third Way of Clinton and Blair that came as a response to the policies of Reagan and Thatcher would not have had to been so drastic. Makes one think.
In addition, the Third Way of Clinton and Blair that came as a response to the policies of Reagan and Thatcher would not have had to been so drastic. Makes one think.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Definitive!!
8 July 2010
Format:Paperback
"Thatcher and Thatcherism" is the definitive analysis of the Premiership of Margaret Thatcher, arguably one of the greatest and prime ministers in British history. This analysis is highly recommended to readers researching or merely interested in that Thatcher years from 1979-1990 that changed Britain's international standing in the eyes of the world. Evans gives great insight into Thatcher's controversial economic policies of privatization, her stance on on integrated Europe, her quest to restore power and prestige to the British imperia psyche, and her leadership during the Cold War.
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