herself asserted that "once again Britain stands tall in the councils of Europe
and of the world." ^2. She was clearly a political figure with far more than
national significance. Her importance in the Cold War is examined by
Trevor Salmon and William Macnair. Sir William Nicoll, who was director
general in the Secretariat of the Council of the European Community (EC)
in Brussels, describes the roots of her reservations about Europe. Lewis G.
John provides a detailed description of why Thatcher lost the support of her
Tory colleagues in November 1990 and was hoisted out of the prime
minister's chair. Finally, James E. Cronin looks back to assess Thatcher's
legacy, the reasons she was viewed as a success in her time, and the
standards against which her government should be judged. He puts her into
the context of British history.

Part Two of this book is composed of a selection of her most important
speeches. Thatcher was not a natural orator. Her speeches were not known
for extraordinary eloquence or humor, although the reader will see that they
are not devoid of those qualities. She took voice lessons to lower the pitch of
her voice, which enabled her to have a more effective and pleasing delivery.
The strengths of her oratory were meticulous preparation, overwhelming
mastery of facts, an underpinning of righteousness, morality, and principle,
and a sharply combative approach. She seldom lost an exchange in Parliament
and deserved her reputation in the House of Commons for prodigious
forensic competence. Her words in Parliament were always her own, but she
sometimes hired speechwriters to sprinkle her other speeches with quotations
or sharp, catchy images. Her speeches are a record of the ideas that inspired
British politics for a long time.

The political importance of her speeches was recognized by the publication
of two previously edited volumes, which are useful to Thatcher scholars. ^3.
The selection in Part Two of this book gives greater emphasis to the seeds of
her political and economic thinking before becoming prime minister, and it
includes speeches delivered in the final years of her prime ministry and after.
The selected speeches are presented in chronological order. These have been
abridged to delete repetitions and most amenities, such as "I am delighted to

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