The Iron Lady: Margaret Thatcher, from Grocer's Daughter to Prime Minister

by John Campbell, David Freeman (Abridged by)

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780143120872
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	10/25/2011
Pages:	576
Sales rank:	397,592
Product dimensions:	5.52(w) x 8.46(h) x 1.26(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

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.

Editorial Reviews

"I'm extraordinarily patient, provided I get my own way in the end." Long-standing (1979-1990) British prime minister Margaret Thatcher made no apologies for her unflinching attitude. In fact, when a Russian defense ministry newspaper derisively nicknamed her "The Iron Lady," she embraced the term. In this paperback original, the only U.S. one-volume account of Thatcher's life, veteran biographer John Campbell presents a formidable portrait of this indomitable leader. (P.S. Meryl Streep will portray Thatcher in the already much-heralded December release, also titled The Iron Lady.)

"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

From the Publisher

"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

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

Matthew Paris

"The best book yet written about Lady Thatcher."

Frank Johnson

"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

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

John Rentoul