9780747595076
Category Name : Poetry, Drama & Criticism
Author Name : Cold Cream: My Early Life and Other Mistakes
Publisher Name : I read his book after hearing it on BBC radio 4 Book of the week. I had never heard of the author but he no doubt got publicity because he was a speech writer for Mrs Thatcher. If he isn't related to someone famous he knows them either through his relatives or as a result of going to Eton and working for Mrs Thatcher. His mother is Lady Julia Pakenham and knew the Mitford sisters. Neither of his parents ever worked . One of his uncles was Anthony Powell of Dance to the Music of time fame who knew George Orwell. Her admits that he only got jobs through influence . Every time he ever applied for a job he failed his only avenue of survival was personal recommendation . He lived on the oxygen of influence. The book is rambling and although it is an autobiography it seems to be a collection of anecdotes about famous people he has either met or been related to. The chapters are very long as there only five of them in a 351 page book. The last chapter is what brings him his fame as it is called Selwyn and Keith and Margaret. He worked for Keith Joseph and then Margaret Thatcher. She took him on as a speechwriter and called him a wordsmith. He said she had one quality and that was tenacity She never gave up once a subject engaged her attention..Her finest hour was the Falklands as she was determined to retake it whatever the cost. It was suggested that it would have been cheaper to offer everyone the 1,800 islanders a millions pounds each to resettle in New Zealand or Canada. Mrs T did not favour that idea. He had run ins with the civil service and as he said their favourite word was unhelpful After the Falklands war she became more popular as the Labour party was perceived as unelectable. The Tory grandees thought they could manipulate her She reputedly survived on only four hours sleep a night but she would stay after everyone else went to bed but clear up as soon as they had gone. For an ex barrister she was reputedly poor at reading a text and she had to be taught how to give the proper emphasis to her famous speech You turn if you want: the lady's not for turning" She remained heroic,intolerable often,vindictive,even poisonous sometimes ,but always heroic. Equally he never became fond of her. That insistent hard concentration could never become endearing. I'm not here to be nice she would was which was just as well. We can only suppose that is how she gained power and hung onto power against such powerful prejudice against both her being a women and being middle class and a grocer's daughter. He is a master of the anecdote and when his son Harry asks Dennis Thatcher if it would be alright to ask mark Thatcher of an autograph. Denis replied "I would not bother if I was you the boy can scarcely write his own name." Dens was wrong of course as it turned out he could write his own name on a cheque for allegedly financing the overthrow of the government of Equatorial Guinea to which he pleaded guilty Also a story about a school mate Prince Michael Of Kent jumping up and down stark naked on his dormitory bed for 10 minutes each day. If you are interested in the history of the 20th Century and British politics in particular this is the book for you. The Cold Cream in the title is what his mother used to use liberally for chapped skin or bruising . She also used to one of the models that advertised it.
Minimum Price : £ 20.00
Category Name : Poetry, Drama & Criticism
Author Name : Cold Cream: My Early Life and Other Mistakes
Publisher Name : I read his book after hearing it on BBC radio 4 Book of the week. I had never heard of the author but he no doubt got publicity because he was a speech writer for Mrs Thatcher. If he isn't related to someone famous he knows them either through his relatives or as a result of going to Eton and working for Mrs Thatcher. His mother is Lady Julia Pakenham and knew the Mitford sisters. Neither of his parents ever worked . One of his uncles was Anthony Powell of Dance to the Music of time fame who knew George Orwell. Her admits that he only got jobs through influence . Every time he ever applied for a job he failed his only avenue of survival was personal recommendation . He lived on the oxygen of influence. The book is rambling and although it is an autobiography it seems to be a collection of anecdotes about famous people he has either met or been related to. The chapters are very long as there only five of them in a 351 page book. The last chapter is what brings him his fame as it is called Selwyn and Keith and Margaret. He worked for Keith Joseph and then Margaret Thatcher. She took him on as a speechwriter and called him a wordsmith. He said she had one quality and that was tenacity She never gave up once a subject engaged her attention..Her finest hour was the Falklands as she was determined to retake it whatever the cost. It was suggested that it would have been cheaper to offer everyone the 1,800 islanders a millions pounds each to resettle in New Zealand or Canada. Mrs T did not favour that idea. He had run ins with the civil service and as he said their favourite word was unhelpful After the Falklands war she became more popular as the Labour party was perceived as unelectable. The Tory grandees thought they could manipulate her She reputedly survived on only four hours sleep a night but she would stay after everyone else went to bed but clear up as soon as they had gone. For an ex barrister she was reputedly poor at reading a text and she had to be taught how to give the proper emphasis to her famous speech You turn if you want: the lady's not for turning" She remained heroic,intolerable often,vindictive,even poisonous sometimes ,but always heroic. Equally he never became fond of her. That insistent hard concentration could never become endearing. I'm not here to be nice she would was which was just as well. We can only suppose that is how she gained power and hung onto power against such powerful prejudice against both her being a women and being middle class and a grocer's daughter. He is a master of the anecdote and when his son Harry asks Dennis Thatcher if it would be alright to ask mark Thatcher of an autograph. Denis replied "I would not bother if I was you the boy can scarcely write his own name." Dens was wrong of course as it turned out he could write his own name on a cheque for allegedly financing the overthrow of the government of Equatorial Guinea to which he pleaded guilty Also a story about a school mate Prince Michael Of Kent jumping up and down stark naked on his dormitory bed for 10 minutes each day. If you are interested in the history of the 20th Century and British politics in particular this is the book for you. The Cold Cream in the title is what his mother used to use liberally for chapped skin or bruising . She also used to one of the models that advertised it.
Minimum Price : £ 20.00
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