Travels with Margaret Thatcher

Description

A Journey with Margaret Thatcher is an extraordinary insider's account of British foreign policy under Margaret Thatcher by one of her key advisers. Providing a closeup view of the Iron Lady in action, former high-ranking diplomat Robin Renwick examines her diplomatic successes - including the defeat of aggression in the Falklands, what the Americans felt to be the excessive influence she exerted on Ronald Reagan, her special relationship with Mikhail Gorbachev and contribution to the ending of the Cold War, the Anglo-Irish agreement, her influence with de Klerk in South Africa and relationship with Nelson Mandela - and what she herself acknowledged as her spectacular failure in resisting German reunification. He describes at first hand her often turbulent relationship with other European leaders and her arguments with her Cabinet colleagues about European monetary union (in which regard, he contends, her arguments have stood the test of time better and are highly relevant to the crisis in the eurozone today). Finally, the book tells of her bravura performance in the run up to the Gulf War, her calls for intervention in Bosnia and the difficulties she created for her successor. While her faults were on the same scale as her virtues, Margaret Thatcher succeeded in her mission to restore Britain's standing and influence, in the process becoming a cult figure in many other parts of the world.

Robin Renwick, Baron Renwick of Clifton, is a crossbench peer in the House of Lords. During a long and illustrious career in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office he has been a Private Secretary to the Minister of State, a political adviser, Assistant Under-Secretary of State and Ambassador to South Africa and then the United States.

'A vivid and compelling first-hand account of Margaret Thatcher's diplomacy' Henry Kissinger 'An insider's account of Thatcher the stateswoman... a book she would have loved to have seen published' The Times 'Plenty of good stories... lively and enjoyable' Daily Telegraph 'Brings back many fond memories!' General Colin Powell 'Particularly interesting is the material on the Falklands War, suggesting Mrs Thatcher's attitude to war was more complex than often imagined.' Choice Magazine 'Will be read by many people with very great pleasure.' Sir John Major 'Lord Renwick [gives] ... absorbing accounts of the negotiations he himself was involved in... Renwick tell[s] the story of the Falklands in brilliantly nuanced detail - Nobody who reads these pages could ever think of Margaret Thatcher as heartless.' Ferdinand Mount, TLS 'If you want an engaging whistlestop tour of Margaret Thatcher's foreign policy, then this book hits the spot - The beauty about Renwick's book is that it gives context to Thatcher's foreign policy.' Total Politics 'Full of delicious insider detail' Financial Times 'In A Journey With Margaret Thatcher - Foreign Policy Under The Iron Lady Renwick provides an insightful first-hand account of the British prime minister's bare-knuckled approach to international diplomacy - Yet, as this illuminating memoir concludes, this opinionated, uncompromising and at times unnecessarily abrasive woman made a much greater impact on world affairs than any other post-war British prime minister.' Financial Mail '[It] sparkles with personal anecdotes.' Richard Ottoway MP