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The Iron Lady: Margaret Thatcher, from Grocer's Daughter to Prime Minister Paperback – Abridged, 25 Oct. 2011

by John Campbell (Author), David Freeman (Adapter)

4.2 159 ratings

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The Iron Lady, the definitive Margaret Thatcher biography, is available just in time for the movie starring Meryl Streep as one of the most infamous figures in postwar politics.

Whether you love her or hate her, Margaret Thatcher's impact on twentieth-century history is undeniable. From her humble, small-town upbringing to her rise to power as the United Kingdom's first female prime minister, to her dramatic fall from grace after more than three decades of service, celebrated biographer John Campbell delves into the story of this fascinating woman's life as no one has before. The result of more than nine years of meticulous research, The Iron Lady is the only balanced, unvarnished portrait of Margaret Thatcher, one of the most vital and controversial political figures of our time.

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Print length

576 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date

25 Oct. 2011
Dimensions

13.97 x 3.3 x 21.34 cm
ISBN-10

0143120875
ISBN-13

978-0143120872
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Product description

Review

"Anyone who really wants to know what happened between 1979 and 1990 should read this book."
-- John Rentoul

"Superbly researched...unlike so many others is neither hagiography nor hatchet-job, and probably gets closer to the truth than any...magnificently told."
-- Michael Dobbs

"The best book yet written about Lady Thatcher."
-- Frank Johnson

"An enormously useful achievement...every twist and turn of her political life is here."
-- Matthew Paris

"I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, and indeed arguing with it, because it has reminded me why many of us would never have wanted her to give up."
-- William Hague

About the Author

John Campbell is a leading political biographer. His other books include Lloyd George, Pistols at Dawn: Two Hundred Years of Political Rivalry from Pitt and Fox to Blair and Brown, and Edward Heath, for which he won the NCR Book Award. He lives in England.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Publishing Group; Abridged edition (25 Oct. 2011)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 576 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0143120875
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0143120872
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 13.97 x 3.3 x 21.34 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 1,442,886 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 4,856 in Political Leader Biographies
- 7,023 in British Historical Military Biographies
- 16,116 in European Historical Biographies

Customer reviews:
4.2 159 ratings

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4.2 out of 5

159 global ratings

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Anna Parkinson

The Iron Lady

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 6 July 2013

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There's so much to learn from this Lady, also one must rmember she changed attitudes to women's rights which opened many doors to us women, when it had been originally a masculine world and closed doors to anyone who tried to open them. She changed my life in a positive way, although I know there's some who are against her, BUT you must remember she turned Great Britain round and got back on track which had been lacking for some time. She deserved all the pomp and circumstance at her funeral. I'm very proud of her and how she changed so many things.
Anna Parkinson

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 23 September 2013

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THE ENEMY WITHIN

'The Iron Lady' is an abridged single volume version of John Campbell's mammoth two part biography of Margaret Thatcher published in 2009. This volume skips over her rise to Downing Street and her subsequent fall from power and concentrates largely (80-90 percent of the volume) on her years in Downing street.

This remains the definitive biography of Thatcher, arguably the definitive political biography, it is extremely well researched, well-balanced, well written, fair, non-partisan and insightfull. The only criticism I can level is that it is a shame that in the condensing, much of her rise to power and her subsequent fall from grace are lost on the editor's floor.

Everyone is familiar with the Thatcher of 1975-90, which is really the story of 'Thatcherism' as opposed to Thatcher, less familiar is the story of the lower middle class, provincial Margaret Roberts of Grantham who came before; steeped as she was in Victorian values of old fasioned patriotism, puritanical Methodism, thrift, individual responsibility and public service derived largely from her father - and the Baroness Thatcher who come after this period of political dominance; a poignantly lonely, lost workaholic with no real friends and two dysfunctional grown up children.

The main insight that I gained from the book (a point that Campbell makes in a variety of ways during the book,) was that her greatest strength - without which she would not have climbed the political ladder, in her own way her rise to prominence in the 1970s was every bit as astonishing as Barack Obama's has been in the modern era - ultimately became her biggest flaw.

Campbell effectively conveys that the very same single-mindedness which drove her to the summit of political success hardened into dogmatism/authoritarianism the longer she held top political office as her dominance grew, ultimately alienating her colleagues at home and in Europe. Thatcher had spent her life successfully fighting enemies - whether these be British socialism, international communism, class snobbery or male condescension - but did not correctly identify her greatest enemy, herself.

13 people found this helpful

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Paul Jones

Very Good

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 4 December 2012

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Bought this book for my girlfriend, shes an avid admirer or Marg and has told me that this book is the best shes read in regards to other material she has had so I guess Id recommend it!

3 people found this helpful

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Mark O'Brien

Clear Bias

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 11 October 2013

Although well written and containing most of the facts there is a clear and persistent tone of anti-Thatcher bias to this account. In addition there's a complete failure to place the whole period in a wider political and economic context i.e what the opposition parties were offering as alternatives. Campbell takes a swipe at Leo Abse but attempts to do the same. He clearly thinks that character assassination is an acceptable form of history. As Margaret Thatcher herself said "If my enemies saw me walking on water, they would say it was because I couldn't swim."

2 people found this helpful

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Kevin

Excellent read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 October 2019

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In depth account of her life

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J. Stoyle

Good, balanced account

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 11 December 2013

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As a fan of thatcherism, but not in denial of the social costs and controversy of her reign, I enjoyed this book. Balanced and genuinely fair, it gives a critical appraisal and puts facts to several myths that leave the reader well informed.

Would have liked more on the miners strikes and more discussion on the sexism thatcher suffered, but still very good

3 people found this helpful

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Mari Harrison

Intriguing

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 June 2013

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Another well written easy to read book about Mrs Thatcher and an insight into her early life. It was intriguing to see she was a grocer's daughter like me ! Though there the similarities end.!

One person found this helpful

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Jamie O'Connell

An excellent book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 May 2013

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A fantastic book.and.a fantastic lady. Well worth a read. Maggie has always.been my idol and.this.book.merely.reinforced all of the reasons for this.

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Péssimo

Reviewed in Brazil on 16 February 2017

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Eu ainda não recebi o livro! E reclamo aqui mesmo, da dificuldade de entrar em contato com a Amazon! Por não ter nenhum canal de ouvidoria.

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RSRS

A strong (perhaps too strong?) woman.....

Reviewed in the United States on 6 January 2012

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One reviewer said, "Superbly researched...neither a hagiography nor hatchet-job," and with that evaluation I wholeheartedly agree. Having lived through the Thatcher era, I kept up to some extent with what she was doing at the time, but since I'm a liberal, inevitably had a negative reaction to much of what she did. But this book throws much more light on her goals and methods than I'd previously been aware of. Not that I necessarily approve, but it was fascinating to see how her strong personality and view of life (and of the responsibilities of the individual) allowed her to hold sway in Great Britain for over a decade.

I wasn't previously aware of the extent to which the nationalization that occurred after World War II was reversed during the Thatcher era. I don't think of England as being a "socialist" country today (and don't consider that a negative condition in any case), but it's amazing how many trends were reversed during the Thatcher era and how she was able to convince the public that it was in their best interests to get the government out of their lives. Even though unemployment and inflation were high and social perks were being inexorably reduced, Margaret Thatcher prevailed and convinced the majority of voters that what she was doing was in their best interests. Probably the most telling aspect of this book, for me, was to recognize certain similarities between British and American political struggles, particularly in regard to what the U.S. is going through at the moment. The Brits have their knock-down, drag-out, liberal-conservative political fights just as we do. I'm not sure that's encouraging, but at least it doesn't make us look quite as outrageous as it sometimes seems.

The book includes many juicy tidbits and vignettes, but perhaps my favorite occurred at a cabinet meeting. Such meetings could never proceed without Margaret being present, but in this case everyone but the Prime Minister was assembled, and one of the ministers said, "Well, her handbag is here, so I think we can proceed." Princess Di was famous for her wardrobe, but that couldn't hold a candle to Margaret Thatcher's symbol of power, the handbag.

Although domestic policy takes up a major portion of Campbell's book, another central theme was the extent to which she vetoed British participation in Europe. She definitely saw Great Britain's place in the world as a partnership with the United States, and of course did everything possible to cement her relationship with President Reagan. Further, her career was saved at one point by the Falklands war, but she had both the luck and the fortitude to survive recurring crises.

In the battle between "individual" and "community" rights, I'm much more oriented toward the community than Margaret Thatcher was, but I can admire her courage and stand amazed at how strongly she believed she was right.

I read the paperback abridged edition, which came in at 500 pages. No need for the details contained in the original two-volume edition weighing in at 1200 pages.

79 people found this helpful

DoraDenim

Interessanter Einblick in das Leben von Lady Thatcher

Reviewed in Germany on 10 December 2011

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Man erfährt hier vieles über die Kindheit und Jugend von Margaret Thatcher und versteht dadurch ihre späteren Handlungen als Premier Minsiter besser. Der Leser erfährt auch, wie sich bestimmte Wirtschaftstheorien in der Praxis auswirken.
Das Ganze wird durch zahlreiche Zitate unterlegt und schafft somit ein interessantes Sammelsurium an verschiedenen Blickwinkeln.

Für alle politisch Interessierten ein sicherlich sehr empfehlenswertes Buch.

3 people found this helpful

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Nancy weeks

The front had a fold line

Reviewed in the United States on 10 December 2022

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It is for a Christmas gift and with the front cover with the crease line, I rubbed it to hopefully smooth it, you can still see it but want to mess with sending it back

chanvathana huot

God

Reviewed in Canada on 15 December 2019

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Good price

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