Margaret Thatcher (Volume 2): The Authorized Biography, Volume Two: Everything She Wants

A remarkable woman whose drive and vision changed a country, while also being a significant force in international affairs. The biography tends to slip into overmuch detail of internal British wrangling between persons over ideas and actions, so losing grasp of the role of Mrs Thatcher. The description of international matters by contrast is clear and the significance of Mrs Thatcher and her ideas is obvious. The volume will always be a valuable resource: perhaps more time and evaluation is needed to complete the full picture of so important a figure in both British and international affairs.

To much political trivia compared to Vol 1 and makes for turgid reading.

Charles Moore is undeniably a fan of Margaret Thatcher, and this is a very sympathetic account of her time in power. Politically speaking I am no Margaret Thatcher fan and I believe the rampant form of capitalism that she and Ronald Reagan brought back to life has done few favours to the world. However, it can’t be denied that she had immense conviction and wasn't afraid to be unpopular if she felt her course of action was correct. Moore writes in a very accessible style and for me this was a real page turner, making me impatient for the next volume.Moore is not afraid to point out when she made mistakes, but one can’t help feeling that she still gets the benefit of the doubt (to say the least) on most issues. He does make clear that she treated certain people abominably (e.g. Geoffrey Howe). He seems to have had exceptional access to the relevant Conservative Party mover and shakers of the time, and the book is a very interesting political history in its own right.I feel I need to read some other biographies to get a less ‘Tory faithful’ view of her and her actions, but there is no denying this is a very enjoyable read.

As with Vol 1, Charles Moore has written a compelling and very well-researched biographty of Margaret Thatcher, during her second term, following the triumph of the Falklands War. In many ways, it's a much more detailed account than Vol 1, taking over 700 pages to cover four years, whereas the first volume was more expansive on her early life and family. Some of the detail is absorbing - for example, the internal papers between Mrs T and her advisers, referring on one occasion to Geoffrey Howe as "the plump chap with glasses" - whilst other aspects are perhaps tedious, such as the meticulous accounts of various EU summits or international visits. I felt that more could have come out regarding Mrs T's character - how she saw things rather than what she did. But all in all, this is a tour de force and I eagerly await Vol 3.

Following the first book by Charles Moore this second volume is a masterpiece of careful research and incisive insights.Stuffed with lovely quotes and set at a racy pace it makes great reading in bed. Highly recommended even if you never liked Margaret Thatcher[I'm a great admirer I must confess] I found the detailed background of the miner's strike particularly interesting and of the privatization of massive enterprises like BT, British Gas etc and the 'big-bang' in the City most enlightening. We owe this lady so much. This volume is packed with a great deal of information that digesting it with a first read is difficult but very rewarding .This is a classic for posterity and a diamond mine of information for researchers, writers and commentators. Not bad either for a good argument at the dinner table. Buy it!

Charles Moore's biography of Mrs Thatcher is absolutely first-rate. He writes well, and knows his subject inside out. He has had access to sources and material that other biographers have not - which shows - and the quality of the research is outstanding. These books (there will be 3 volumes when the magnum opus is completed) provide unique insights into the character, achievements, concerns, obstacles, and worries of one of the most remarkable politicians of the 20th century. I found volumes 1 and 2 gripping, and can't wait for volume 3!

Pretty well all one wants from a biography: lots of facts, many newly unearthed; remarkable even-handedness and brave assessment; an exciting story which resonates not only with how it felt then, but how it feels again today. (Essential reading for politicians and political commentators, to warn that, because that's what happened then is no reason to suppose that that's what will happen now?) A few overlong, complicated, going round in circles sentences but unputtable down.