There Is No Alternative: Why Margaret Thatcher Matters

With "There Is No Alternative: Why Margaret Thatcher Matters," Author Claire Berlinski has given me one of the most enjoyable reads of the past year. First, I will admit to being an unabashed fan of Margaret Thatcher and what she did, almost singlehandedly, to revive Britain's fortunes and its role on the world stage. Berlinski's biography of Thatcher is not a conventional biography. This is not an insider's memoir but, rather, one painstakingly researched working with archival documents, biographies, and interviews.Berlinski was inspired to answer several important questions:1. How do some people become larger than life?2. Why did Thatcher?3. Does she matter now and will her legacy endure?She concludes:1. Political figures who are larger than life have two rare gifts. First, they are able to perceive the gathering of historical forces in a way their contemporaries are unable to do. And second, when promoted to power, they are able to master these historical forces.2. Thatcher, one of the most vigorous, determined, and successful enemies of socialism the world has ever known, reversed the terminal decline of Britain, which was considered when she entered office as the sick man of Europe. Thatcher conveyed through words and actions a thesis: Britain's decline was not an inevitable fate, but a punishment for the sins of socialism. The UK had ceased to be great because it had ceased to be virtuous.3. She also matters because she is a woman. She addressed things that no woman before her had achieved - turning every conventional expectation of women upside down. She refuted several millennia's work of assumptions about women, power, and women in power.4. She does matter today as her battles are not over. Many predicted prematurely that socialism was buried. Many today have forgotten that the appeal of socialism as a political program is ultimately seductive and enduring. Wherever people are miserable, they will be vulnerable to those who promise utopia. The promises of socialism will never lose their capacity to inspire.Berlinski predicts Thatcher's ideas and personality will assume a greater significance over time. "She perceived the forces of darkness and overcame them through mastery. These forces are still at work. They must again be mastered....and this why she matters to all of us."With "There Is No Alternative: Why Margaret Thatcher Matters," the reader will gain not only insights into Thatcher and her accomplishments (which are told in great detail with great relish) but also will gain important insights on the truth of liberty and the lie of expansive government. This is a must read for all Americans interested in true, classical liberalism.

Berlinski has provided any fan of Thatcher, British History, the 70's and 80s, Politics, or Economics an engaging, intriguing, and fun narrative regarding one of the seminal figures of the 20th century. 

Focusing on the transformative episodes of her Prime Ministership:

-Her strategic planning culminating in her rise to power

-Victory in the Falklands War

-Victory over the trade unions

-Victory over British decline and economic insignificance bordering on basket case status

-Victory over the the Soviet Union

-And interspaced through it all, Thatcher's quieter but no less impressive victories over a pervasive welfare statism mindset, chauvinism, and her quite liberal and frequently doubtful fellow 'conservatives'. 

Berlinski gives us witty analysis, the best anecdotes, the key players in their vernacular (with translation when needed) and even an economic lesson or two thrown in but never dull or esoteric.

No socialist Berlinski (she emphatically states it through the book) yet she consistently and fairly addresses both (and occasionally three) sides of the story. 

As an American I'll never understand the class structure, regions, attitudes and colloquialisms of Britain but thanks to Berlinski's impartial pen I feel I have gained a balanced perspective of the conservative vs. labour vs. liberal vs. and marxist rationale circa 1976-1990 as they vied for control of Britain. 

That Thatcher could masterfully navigate that rich landscape, complicated cultural and ideological milieus to successfully right her foundering ship of state and return HMS Great Britain from the shoals to deep water glory ranks her with only Churchill in Britain and Washington and Lincoln in America in the Pantheon of Great Statesman since the American Revolution. Further consider how the Left in England (via political parties, popular culture and media) still revile her as a testament to what she was up against... Yes Margaret Thatcher was truly a woman who mattered.Clearly Berlinski matters too for providing us this compelling reality in such an easy and enjoyable read.

Relying on some very relevant first-hand personal interviews, Berlinski reinforces the political and economic importance of Margaret Thatcher. This book is a welcome addition to our understanding of the stature that Thatcher well deserves in saving the British economy from the brink of the disastrous cliff it was fast nearing. It was her single-minded determination to stand up against the coal miners and other labor unions and to offer a sane ulternative that brought the British industry back to life. Many people at the time were not happy to pay the tough price this required, but the temporary pain was worth it when we consider the years of prosperty and economic growth that were followed afterwards in the 1980's and 90's.Though the book is somewhat uneven in its planning and organization, it is still quite perceptive, informative, and educational.

This thoroughly researched and well written book is an enjoyable read and provides clear insight into Lady Thatcher’s character and personality. Although not a biography Claire Belinski has crafted a journal of Thatchers political life between the years of her rise to power in the mid seventies to her political assassination in 1991. This is not a book for academics but for those who wish to understand how she became “the best Prime Minister since Churchill” it is a revealing tribute to a remarkable woman.

It's a sobering thought for anyone my age (homing in on my 50th birthday frighteningly quickly!) that it's now more than twenty-five years since Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister. Thirty year-olds will have few, if any, personal memories of that period and many of them must have been bemused when, upon the death of Thatcher in April 2013, many people worldwide mourned one of the greatest politicians of the 20th century, while others celebrated by sending "Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead" to number two in the UK singles charts.How could a politician inspire, on the one hand, such devotion and, on the other, such vitriol? Well, anyone seeking to learn, or to remember, the many answers to that question should read "There Is No Alternative" by Claire Berlinski.Berlinski writes in a style which manages, simultaneously, to be both scholarly and accessible. A sixth-form student, having no real idea of who Margaret Thatcher was, could read the book and find it to be an excellent general introduction. Similarly, someone who remembers the Thatcher years first-hand, and is politically aware, could read it and find much that is enlightening. Ms Berlinski knows what she's doing, and she does it well.Thatcher was, literally, a descendant of Napoleon's "nation of shopkeepers". She was brought up in an austere, religious household by a father who encouraged young Margaret to embrace the values of self-reliance, thrift, hard work and personal morality. When she denounced socialism, she didn't - as many others did - talk about economically misguided Utopianism. No: to her, socialism was, plain and simple, morally corrupting, sinful and wicked. A barrier to self-reliance, a denial of self-respect, not only unpatriotic but also un-British. These beliefs formed the bedrock of everything Thatcher said or did, and there's no doubt that her government changed Britain fundamentally and, perhaps, irreversibly.She was lucky, undeniably, to have the allies and opponents that she had. President Reagan was an ideological brother who became a close personal friend. Mikhail Gorbachev knew that the Soviet Union was unsustainable, on the brink of collapse, that the Cold War had been lost, and that radical changes were overdue by decades. But would a Soviet leader, in effect, have "surrendered" to President Carter and Prime Minister Callaghan? Of course not. The Labour Party was in disarray, tearing itself to pieces, and it took fifteen years or more to become electable again. Arthur Scargill was determined to bring down Thatcher's government by industrial force or perish in the attempt (he perished: as did his union, his industry, and his proud, decent members who were foolish enough to believe his revolutionary rhetoric). Argentine dictator Galtieri believed that "that woman" wouldn't have the nerve to try to retake The Falkland Islands by force. Like so many others, both Scargill and Galtieri realised, too late, that Thatcher said what she meant and meant what she said.Though she openly declares her admiration for Thatcher, Berlinski doesn't shirk from the necessity of describing the many negative consequences of her tenure as Prime Minister. Unproductive industries were ruthlessly culled and Berlinski argues, like Thatcher, that "there was no alternative." But it led to the devastation of entire communities and the creation of an "underclass" that didn't exist before her, and yet exists to this day. Under free-market capitalism, there are winners and losers; under socialism, Thatcher believed (and Berlinski believes), we're all losers. It's a debate that's by no means over (is it, Mr Corbyn?) and neither should it be.Thatcher's unshakeable conviction that she was right was, as Berlinski almost painfully shows, both her greatest strength and her greatest weakness. When the tide turned against her, she wouldn't - couldn't - listen to reason. The chapter describing her fall is, perhaps, a touch melodramatic (Berlinski reports the events while interspersing them with dialogue from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar), but beautifully done, and the story of the pathos of her final years, where she fell victim to increasing loneliness, infirmity and dementia, would, I suspect, cause even her most implacable opponents to shed a tear for the old girl.Hundreds of books have been written about Thatcher and, no doubt, there will be many more. Few I have read get to the heart of the matter as this one does. To see Thatcherism as a moral argument and choice is an approach I've not seen before, and Berlinski argues her case, justifies her conclusions, acknowledges the contradictions and succeeds in answering her premise, which is the subtitle of her book, "Why Margaret Thatcher Matters"; and she does it with intellectual rigour, unfailingly elegant prose and, occasionally, a mischievous sense of humour. An outstanding book.

Berlinski provides great insights into how Margaret Thatcher formulated her push against the coal unions and her soft power in helping to end the Cold War. She paints a detailed picture of a leader steadfast in her convictions with very little support from those around her.

Berlinski has an informal writing style that allows the reader to absorb detail without being overwhelmed. One star off, though, for not attempting to get inside Thatcher's brain a little more. She (Berlinski) stays on the safe side by leaning on her journalistic skills, but it makes for a slightly dry read in the end. Could have been a bit more colourful. Still, it's a very good book and well worth the money.

Good book. Very objective