With unequaled authority and dramatic detail, the first volume of Charles Moore's authorized biography of Margaret Thatcher reveals as never before the early life, rise to power, and initial period as prime minister of the woman who transformed Britain and the world in the late twentieth century.

Moore illuminates Thatcher's youth--her relationship with her parents and early romantic attachments, including her courtship and marriage to Denis Thatcher--moving forward to the determination and boldness that marked even the very beginning of her political career. His account of her political...