The Downing Street Years

For the first question, I must say I am a bit disappointed. There are only a few pages devoted to this issue. It was not a major achievement of Mrs Thatcher, and it does not seem to me she did not like China and Hong Kong, not did she understand this anicent Oriental country.

For the second question, I can only say that the whole book is a self-justifying account of her 11 and a half years as Prime Minister.


Wonderful Account of the Thatcher Government   April 9, 2002
 6 out of 8 found this review helpful

Great look back on the government that brought Great Britain back to the forefront of the world stage. Mrs. Thatcher describes how she and her government defeated the view that Britain was an empire in decline. Thanks to her, Great Britain is once again a nation that commands respect! I wish she could come and take over here on this side of the Atlantic!


A subjective account of domination, not a historical record   January 1, 2002
 12 out of 13 found this review helpful

It is often said that hind sight is 20/20, and the Ex-Prime Minister has made good use of this theory when writing.

Her recollection of the events frequently tie badly with the recollections of others, and of the media at the time. The book is self justifying, and unfortunately often finds her so desperate to vindicate criticism against her that the actual history is lost. I would not suggest that this is deliberate, but rather a product of a person completely convinced of her own correctness.

There can be no denying that Thatcher was a strong and highly driven leader. The reader follows the story from the start of her leadership experience, displacing Ted Heath as leader, following her through mounting confidence in her own decisions and ability to govern, and developing into an absolute belief in her own ability. The final chapters deal with a Margaret Thatcher so convinced of her own invulnerability, that she completely fails anticipate the seriousness of the plot against her, and is overthrown in the same manor that she overthrew Heath.

Any reader of this book will find illumination shed on the current state of the Tory Party, as the party loses all internal cohesion under Thatcher's and subsequently falls apart when she is deposed.

When read in conjunction with other books covering Thatcher's reign the biography sheds light more on the character of this world famous leader and the contest in which it developed than on any actual reliable historical record.

Readers may also wish to read Woodrow Wyatt's biography which displays a Thatcher racked by doubts and feeling besieged by enemies. Perhaps a combination of both characters may be more accurate!