Claire is currently working on There is No Alternative: Why Margaret Thatcher Matters, to be published by Basic Books in the summer of 2008.

About the Book

If Ronald Reagan brought conservative ideas to the fore in American politics, Margaret Thatcher proved that those ideas were not limited to the peculiarities of American political culture but could be applied around the world. As Britain's Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990, Thatcher championed a full range of conservative initiatives: she privatized state-owned industries, curbed the power of labor unions, reduced welfare, and instituted monetarist economic policies. Her victories brought bitter costs in human misery and social discord—suicides, decimated communities, broken families — and her legacy is mixed and in some ways disturbing.

Berlinski's aim is to convey a full, textured portrait of the woman and her legacy, her flaws and missteps as well as her triumphs. But ultimately, Claire Berlinski argues, Thatcher matters because socialism is again on the rise, and only those societies willing to do what Thatcher did will prevail. The struggles of Great Britain in the 1980s remain vitally relevant to Britain and Europe, and to the world. There is No Alternative is an account of the epic and ongoing conflict between free enterprise and its enemies.