Two of Britain’s most popular political commentators, Iain Dale and Steve Richards, have produced short, quick-fire biographies of Britain’s longest-serving postwar prime ministers, Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair. Since Dale and Richards align themselves with the centre-right and centre-left respectively, their books are written in the spirit of the ‘candid friend’. The authors pull few punches, while wishing that their subjects had been more, not less, successful in power.

Dale says he is writing for those not old enough to remember Thatcher and the revolution she led. Richards, by contrast, clearly hopes to appeal to a group of political aficionados who already understand the basics. Dale attempts to survey the whole of Thatcher’s life in an easy and accessible way. Richards focuses exclusively on the thirteen years between Blair becoming Labour leader and being forced to quit Number Ten by his successor-to-be, Gordon Brown, a figure whose gloomy shadow hangs over the book.

For those who already know the Thatcher story in detail, Dale breaks little new ground. He offers, however, a commendably clear, engaging and balanced introduction to the ‘Thatcher shock’ that transformed British politics in the last quarter of the 20th century. Richards dives straight into the contradictions and paradoxes of