John Major: The Autobiography - Hardcover

Major, John

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060196149 ISBN 13: 9780060196141

Publisher: Harper, 1999

Synopsis

John Major's autobiography is one of the most personal and revealing ever written by a former British Prime Minister. Eagerly awaited, the remarkable story of his life, from an extraordinary childhood to becoming an influential leader at the forefront of global politics and subsequent fall, is candid, scrupulous, and unsparing.

With complete candor and compelling insight, Major describes how he left school at fifteen, was unemployed, and through hard work and determination was elected to Parliament as a member of Margaret Thatcher's Conservative Party, which would transform Britain.

Quickly becoming one of Thatcher's Cabinet members, he served as Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Foreign Secretary, and then Chancellor of the Exchequer, the powerful position from which he vaulted to Prime Minister in 1990 when, after Thatcher fell, he fought and won a shrewd campaign to succeed her.

Major vividly recounts his role in shaping some of the most profound world events, including conferring with George Bush on the Gulf War, making the most decisive steps in a generation toward peace in Northern Ireland, leading Britain through the formation of the European Upon, and calling a general election in 1992 in which his party won the most votes in British political history. Yet within months of the 1992 election his government was in troubled waters, and Major is candid about his difficulties and losses and the controversies and divisions within his own party. Through it all, including the landslide defeat of his Conservative Party on May 1, 1997, and his immediate stepping down as party leader and Prime Minister, John Major acted with a dignity rare in politics.

As he talks about his leadership triumphs and defeats and his work with a diverse range of inter-national figures including George Bush, Bill Clinton, Mikhail Gorbachev, Boris Yeltsin, Helmut Kohl, and Nelson Mandela, he offers invaluable insight into how political power is exercised both in the United Kingdom and abroad. Here is a fascinating story of a man, his passion for politics, and the genuine and significant contributions he has made to the lives ofthe British and people around the world.

About this title

About the Author:

John Major has been Conservative Member of Parliament for Huntington since 1979. He served as Foreign Secretary and Chancellor of the Exchequer before succeeding Margaret Thatcher as leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister in November 1990. He was to hold both positions until May 1997, winning a remarkable victory in the 1992 general election.

John Major and his wife, Norma, live in London and Huntington. They have two children, Elizabeth and James.

Review:

`Compelling...a classic of holding the reader's attention which many fiction writers might envy.' Roy Jenkins, Evening Standard `Unsparing...vivid...witty as well as wise.' Geoffrey Howe, Independent `One of the few post-war political autobiographies that will endure...compulsively readable and remarkably objective...deeply moving.' Bruce Anderson, Daily Telegraph

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0060196149
• ISBN 13: 9780060196141
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 800