Who Dares Wins: Britain, 1979-1982

Product Information

Britain was not alone in this reversal of the post-war Keynesian program. Similar programs were established in most Western democracies, where needed, and nations that were reluctant to countenance reforms (eg, France) continued with economies that remained relatively scelerotic. In my own country, Australia, a Labor government successfully implemented rigorous reforms in the 1980s to increase competition, reduce regulation, and remove excess currency controls. Or did it? The reality was more complicated, says Sandbrook. Even before the Argentinian invasion the Tories had been on an upswing, inflation was falling, business improving, and their approval rate was more than 30%. This contrasts with the opening sections of the book, which lay out the sorry state of Britain at the turn of the 80s – economic decline, unemployment, inflation, violence in Northern Ireland, strikes, riots, and a general sense that our days of being “Great” were long gone. The received wisdom is that Thatcher set about destroying British industry by hammering the unions, instituting cash controls – monetarism – and plunging the country into recession. But, as Sandbrook argues, coal, steel and car-making had been in steep decline for years, and the recession would have happened even under Labour. Similarly, the right to buy, the Tories’ controversial sale of council houses, predated Thatcher by at least a decade; her twist on the policy was to make it law. Mrs Thatcher enjoyed watching snooker, though leisure was not something she understood This was a bit different to previous books by this author that I have read in that the build up was slower and it came in different strands which merged together towards the end of the story. Political opposition in the UK to cuts in government expenditure, and continuing inflation, led to the 1978/79 Winter of Discontent, with substantial strikes and excessive pay rises to contain industrial unrest.

Who Dares Wins - Penguin Books UK

SAS Who dares wins" offers a lot of ready-to-use advises, simple adjustments that the reader could implent without and particolare effort. The relative decline of the democracies, and the rabid willingness of the autocracies to fill the breach in global dominance, seems to be developing into an Orwellian nightmare. Is Jacob part of a plan that threatens world peace? As the body count rises, only Sam can stop these events from reaching their terrifying conclusion. Into the wild 2019". Archived from the original on 19 September 2021 . Retrieved 28 September 2021. And it is worth reading. Sandbrook writes with great style and wit about a crucial period in Briain's post-war history that older readers will remember well. He covers most of the significant developments in all walks of life as he did in his previous books.It would be impossible to write a book such as Dominic Sandbrook's Who Dares Wins:Britain 1979-1982 without devoting a sizeable chunk of the text to the woman dubbed The Iron Lady, Margaret Thatcher, as well as those who were in her political sphere. A woman who, although pilloried for her part in dismantling the heavy industry of the UK, felt a heavy weight of responsibility upon her shoulders each day she spent in office. 'Pilloried' is no understatement; in many former industrial centres...basically, anywhere that isn't 'down south', she is roundly condemned for having been single-handedly responsible for utterly shattering working class communities. Shipbuilding, mining, steel, textiles and car-manufacturing among many others, were lost forever. But more significantly, areas within the towns and cities which they served were left as heartless wastelands of urban decay and deprivation. In such places, the mere inkling that somebody supports Thatchers viewpoints, or sees any good in the woman whatsoever, is to this day, still likely to attract a measure of emotionally charged aggression. Just how one single politician (aside from truly despotic dictators) can attract such animosity, on such a wide scale, has always intrigued me. It was with exactly this sense of intrigue that I approached Sandbrook's fifth instalment of a series, which charts the history of postwar Great Britain. Magisterial ... If anyone wants to know what has been happening to Britain since the 1950s, it is difficult to imagine a more informative, or better-humoured guide ... a Thucydidean coolness, balance and wisdom that is superb.' - AN Wilson, The Times The book focuses on the history of early 1980s Britain. It is a comprehensive overview of the period, culminating with the Falklands War.

Who Dares Wins: a full-blooded, explosive military thriller

His views of the far left are pretty clearly critical. Foot is portrayed as an honest man who was incompetent to lead Labour, but Benn and Livingstone are savaged (and Sandbrook doesn't miss a chance to bring up Jeremy Corbyn when he's peripherally involved). Mrs Thatcher is one of the most divisive figures in British political history, but one who is now generally the subject of rampant vituperation. Having just turned sixteen, I was too young to vote in the 1979 election, but contrary to the revisionist view prevalent today, I remember the feeling almost of euphoria when Mrs Thatcher emerged victorious from that election. This was, it is true, more a feeling that change … any change … had to be welcome. Things had been so relentlessly grim over the preceding seven or eight months that any sort of new start was welcome. Of course, no-one would have believed in May 1979 that the Conservatives would remain in power for the next eighteen years, and, as if to prove Santayana’s adage about the cyclical nature of history, there was the same sense of euphoria or relief when Tony Blair’s New Labour finally ousted them.The tail end of the book is consumed largely by the Falklands conflict, Sandbrook deflating the usual narrative of a jingoist prime minister fighting a war that nobody bar the Sun supported and showing how not only was the idea of ceding sovereignty of the islands in the air before the war, it was actually the resistance of the Argentine government which prevented it from happening. The broader story, however, reveals a conflict brewing between rival media providers and the fractures within the Labour Party, foreshadowing issues that have become relevant again only recently. Immaculately well-researched, breathtakingly broad and beautifully written ... Sandbrook leaves the reader impatient for the next volume.' - Simon Heffer, Daily Telegraph

Who Dares Wins: Leadership Secrets from the Special SAS: Who Dares Wins: Leadership Secrets from the Special

Britain's SAS (Special Air Service) has an unparalleled reputation for soldiering excellence. Their skills and techniques have been perfected in the most demanding environments imaginable, but many of these can also be used in our everyday lives. Who Dares Wins is the fifth book in my series about Britain since the war, and covers the shortest period. I spent more time on this one than any of the others, partly because of the sheer wealth of material, but also because I wanted to get it right. His second book Life Under Fire: How to Build Inner Strength and Thrive Under Pressure [9] was released October 15, 2020. The acclaimed historian of modern Britain, Dominic Sandbrook, tells the story of the early 1980s: the most dramatic, colourful and controversial years in our recent history.It is now a cliche that anytime Britain does something loopy for commentators to pop out and intone: 'is this imperial nostalgia?' Who Dares Wins suggests that it isn't quite that. Events, as ever, were as much a product of outside forces - the manner in which North Sea oil was actually a problem for our economy more than a bonanza that was squandered is particularly revealing - and the new government was struggling to change the direction of our economy in the face of serious turbulence. Sandbrook frequently asks whether things could have been different, and whilst sometimes in hindsight it seems they could (if only slightly), it is clear that without that hindsight, such outcomes were unlikely in the extreme. A statesman...waits until he hears the steps of God sounding through events, then leap up and grasps the hem of His garment. I am thoroughly fascinated by the SAS. I don't know why, I just am. I do not come from a military family nor am I closely linked to anyone serving, but I am fascinated by the rhetoric, psychology and machismo that seems to prevail in this world, particularly the Special Forces.