The Prime Ministers

The Prime Ministers is a thoughtful book that expands on the lectures the author did for BBC Parliament.

He selects the nine prime ministers nominally because they are prominent politicians of the “television era”. This is a modest way of obscuring the real reason for picking them, which is they are prime ministers whom Richards has observed closely.

Richards nicely summarises the each of the politicians. He makes observations which aren't immediately evident. For example, he points out that Margaret Thatcher's decision to go to war to retake the Falklands was “the only alternative to a armed response would have been her resignation”.

All in all the book contains many intriguing details, judgments and reflections. It is definitely well worth reading.