Introducing Thatcherism: A Graphic Guide

Introducing Graphic Guides

by Peter Pugh, Carl Flint (Illustrator)

Margaret Thatcher's political career was one of the most remarkable of modern times. She rose to become the first woman to lead a major Western democracy, serving as British Prime Minister. Admired by Ronald Regan and the United States Congress, Introducing Thatcherism looks at the political philosophy behind this influential and controversial woman.

Genres: Politics, History, Nonfiction, Economics, Biography, British Literature, Graphic Novels

176 pages, Paperback

First published March 6, 1997

Reviews

[Mostafa Bushehri · Rating 3 out of 5]

بدون شک صحبت از سیاستمداری که امروزه نامش با یک «ایسم/ایست» همراه است و طرفداران و مخالفین جدی در جهان دارد و مشی و تفکراتش ، که خود وام‌گرفته از افراد بسیاری است، موجب تحولات شگرفی درسراسر دنیا شد کاری است بس دشوار و نیاز به بحث و گفتگوی فراوان دارد.

ویژگی کتاب:
بی‌طرفی، ذکر بد و خوب دولت تاچر، ایجاز، نداشتن انسجام در مطالب، تیتروار گذاشتن از رویدادها و...
کتاب که در ظاهر به یک کتاب کمیک می‌ماند پر از اطلاعات پراکنده است اما دانش و معرفتی به خواننده انتقال نمی‌دهد.

کتاب، کتابی جدی یا علمی نیست که بشود بر روی آن بحث کرد. یک معرفی ساده و مختصر از اقدامات و سیاست‌های تاچر بدون بحث و نظر جدی و علمی در باب آن‌ها.

[Abolfazl Hajizadegan · Rating 5 out of 5]

«تاچر» عنوان دومین کتاب از مجموعه کتاب‌های قدم اول است كه ترجمه کرده‌ام. اين كتاب توسط انتشارات شيرازه منتشر شده است و از این هفته وارد بازار كتاب خواهد شد.
کتاب با آنکه تلاش می‌کند از دیو یا فرشته خواندن مارگارت تاچر پرهیز کند و روایتی بی‌طرفانه از دوران وی ارائه دهد، اما این تلاشِ تحسین‌برانگیز باعث کند شدن تیغ تیز نقدش بر عملکرد تاچر و موافقان و مخالفانش نشده است.
به‌نظرم کتاب «تاچر» می‌تواند دربردارنده نكات مهمی براي مخاطبِ ایرانی باشد. می‌تواند به اصلاح‌طلب‌های ایران اهمیت اقتصاد را یادآوری کند و به آنها نشان دهد که بی‌موضع بودن‌شان در قبال اقتصاد و سیاست‌های اقتصادی چه عواقبی دارد. همچنین می‌تواند به آن دسته از چپ‌های ايرانی كه با كليدواژه «نئوليبراليسم» به نقد انگاره‌های ذهنی مشغولند نيز یادآور شود که سیاست‌های اقتصادی چپگرایانه و یا راستگرایانه، به تنهایی تعیین‌کننده نتیجه دعوای سیاست نیستند و بسیاری از بحران‌های زمان تاچر قبل از آنکه نتیجه سیاست‌های راستگرایانه‌اش باشند، نتیجه انسداد سیاسی و ناکارآمدی زمین سیاست بوده‌اند. لذا این دسته از چپگراها تا وقتی مواضع روشن و مشخصی در خصوص مسائل سیاسیِ واقعاً موجود در ایران نداشته باشند، نمی‌توانند در راستای جلوگیری از تکرار بحران‌های تاچری در ایران گامی بردارند.

[Jo · Rating 2 out of 5]

I believe I have a better overall understanding of the woman and her impact on politics since reading this book, but I felt that the book assumed a certain degree of prior knowledge, which I didn't have. For example, it talked about Black Monday and about closed ballots without any further explanation of what this meant, which was frustrating. Toward the end, there was a heavy emphasis on economics, which I also struggled with. A reasonable introduction for me, but I feel a more simplified version would be useful for newcomers to the subject.

[Lloyd · Rating 2 out of 5]

Purposefully broad rather than deep, which is what I was after, but in places it felt far too superficial, especially in regards to critical perspectives on Thatcher’s premiership.

I felt that the section on Thatcher’s connection to the Jewish community and some of the illustrations of her and others were problematic, too.

[Roisin · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's mostly pictures almost like reading a comic book version of spitting image but less funny and more informative. Good if you want to dip your foot into the Thatcher Pool instead of going head first.

[Keen Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a detailed and compact little guide that does cram plenty of facts and stats into its modest size. As well as giving us some nice background and build up to the Thatcher years, allowing us a longer view, showing us many of the factors and people who would influence Thatcher, the likes of Hayek, Friedman and Alfred Sherman. We also learn of the importance of Keith Joseph, the IEA (Institute of Economic Affairs) and the CPS (Centre Policy Studies) on emerging Thatcherism. It also mentions the employment of Gordon Reece and the Saatchi Brothers, which would become vital in the bid to rebrand her image, making her more appealing to the electorate. Monetarism, privatisation, the Falklands and the Poll Tax are all in here too.

According to this book, during the 80s there were no less than 28 revisions to the way unemployment figures were measured. I wonder why?...Anyone would think that the government had something they wanted to hide. In May 79 (the month when Thatcher came to power), there were 1.09 million registered unemployed, this would rise to a high of 3.13 million in July 86, before declining again years later.

The facts reflect that Thatcher excelled in making a lot of rich people richer and a lot of poor people poorer. Despite being hugely unpopular and damaging to large areas of the country, some of her policies were necessary, without doubt the unions were getting too strong, greedy and bloated in power and needed reigning in (though not to the extent Thatcher did). They enjoyed a disproportionate amount of power in a so called democracy, and spent a lot of time, money and effort fighting for dying industries to the detriment of other areas. The likes of the coal industry which had been in chronic decline for years and British Steel, losing an alleged £30 a second. To keep such drains on the coffers open, would be reckless to the point of madness. What could have and should have been handled a lot better, was the treatment of the people and communities that these decisions deeply effected and often devastated. By not taking the proper steps to help and alleviate those most damaged by the changes, they greatly failed in their responsibilities, which only made a grim situation worse.

So overall this is a stimulating and thought provoking overview of Thatcherism, that manages to maintain a relatively balanced perspective, which isn’t always easy to do when writing about Thatcher. It covers most of the main points and is written in a largely accessible way. It says in the biographies section, that Flint is "an eighties throwback." This is certainly reflected in his art work, it harks back to the gritty, left wing, political cartoon drawing of the 80s, that may not be for everyone, but it does help capture the era it covers really well.

[Andrew Corsini · Rating 3 out of 5]

This guidebook to Thatcherism should have been a simple apolitical textbook but it runs into the inevitable problem that when it comes to its subject, there is no middle ground. There has to be a strong opinion. Hence the author finds themselves oddly approving of her handling of the coal-miners but (even more oddly) strongly disapproving of her stance on Europe. Then again, this is a thoroughly researched work and not a bad place to start. It could have been worse. I maintain the Meryl Streep-starring The Iron Lady is the worst artistic depiction I have ever seen of anyone's life, primarily in that you can no real sense of the impact or legacy of the main figure. Thatcher is the single most impactful figure in the last fifty years of British history; I recall once a (former) friend making flippant comments in a pub about coal miners and drawing the ire of a quiet but very angry man who effectively communicated how Thatcher had taken away his community's way of life.

[Andrew Noselli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like Reagan in the U.S., Thatcher was a confidence-booster that was sorely needed in a time of moral and fiscal depression; her foibles as a leader were, like the 'great communicator' of this country, the result of the application of conservative principles to what are essentially figurehead roles of public relations demagoguery.

[SURYA.V · Rating 3 out of 5]

Average Read

Decent book on introduction to Thatcher and her policies.Reagan-Thatcher-Gorbachev angle a key moment in history should have been delved into more.

[Ioan · Rating 3 out of 5]

thatcher is dead

[Candy · Rating 3 out of 5]

An okay introduction

[Icon Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

Margaret Thatcher's political career was one of the most remarkable of modern times. She rose to become the first woman to lead a major Western democracy, serving as British Prime Minister. Admired by Ronald Regan and the United States Congress, "Introducing Thatcherism" looks at the political philosophy behind this influential and controversial woman.

[Hanrong Tham · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good read.