Throughout the 1980s Mrs Thatcher dominated political life in the UK and Thatcherism became the shorthand for a series of political initiatives all over the world. Most accounts of these years have concentrated on the economics of free markets and privatization. This book takes a different stance through a detailed analysis of the responses of NALGO (The National and Local Government Officers Association) members, activists, leaders, and officials to the government's public sector reform and restructuring programme. Employees in health, local government, and education faced cuts in funding, compulsory competitive tendering, internal markets, and new management practices associated with HRM and TQM. Others in the gas, water, electricity, and transport industries faced wholesale privatization. This unique account of the period written from the evidence and perspective of those involved will be an important source for researchers, teachers, and practitioners in politics, industrial relations, public administration, and management concerned with the events and lessons of the 1980s.

One of the definitive films of the 1980s, 'Top Gun' is a high-octane, high-concept mixture of slick images, hard action and non-stop music. Tom Cruise plays Maverick, a young fighter pilot enrolled at Naval college, training with the most gifted flyers of his generation, and competing for the prestigious Top Gun award. Maverick soon establishes himself as one of the best in his class, but his insistence on doing things his own way soon brings him into conflict with his superiors and his main student rival: the Iceman (Val Kilmer). Celebrated for its vividly realised flight sequences, its keen sense of style, and featuring the Oscar-winning song 'Take My Breath Away', 'Top Gun' was one of the most popular films of its day.

Wolfgang Petersen's screen adaptation of Sebastian Junger's semi-fictional book about the loss of a fishing vessel and its crew during one of the biggest storms for decades seen off the coast of the US. In the autumn of 1991 the Andrea Gail leaves the port of Gloucester, Massachusetts, never to be seen again. Heading out to the fishing waters of the Flemish Cap in search of swordfish, Captain Billy Tyne (George Clooney) and his crew soon find themselves overtaken by a massive storm, one which taxes their courage to the very limit. Focusing mainly on the adventures of the Andrea Gail, but also taking in the attempts of a rescue helicopter to rescue the crew of an ailing sailboat, Wolfgang Petersen's film uses impressive state-of-the-art effects to present a vivid account of the storm's awesome, destructive power.

In the future, mankind has been invaded by a lethal alien bug race, thirty feet tall and possessing the ability to fly. Freedom fighter Johnny Rico sets about training up an elite military unit in order to combat the alien invaders, while his girlfriend, Carmen, becomes a fighter pilot. However, in the heat of battle, Johnny is unaware that Carmen is being seduced by her dashing flight instructor.

Brooding psychological thriller, starring Christian Bale. Trevor Reznik (Bale) is a factory machine-operator who is suffering from crippling insomnia. His weight has plummeted, he suffers from hallucinations, and he finds himself unable to concentrate at work, leading to a horrific accident involving one of his co-workers. Ostracised from the other men at the factory, Reznik starts finding threatening notes and begins to fear that someone is trying to kill him. Is his paranoia part of his psychological breakdown, or is it possibly justified?

Jennifer Lynch directs this thriller starring Julia Ormond and Bill Pullman as two FBI agents posted to a remote police station in Santa Fe to investigate a series of gruesome murders carried out by a mysterious masked gang. As the agents interrogate various witnesses and victims, the testimonies diverge more and more wildly as the seedy underbelly of the community - complete with corrupt police officers, drug addicts and sadistic sexual deviants - is grimly revealed.

Supernatural horror set in Texas. Bryn and Paul Shaw (Teri Polo and David Rees Snell) move to a new apartment in the Beacon building to rebuild their lives after the tragic death of their son Danny three years previously. No sooner have they moved in than Bryn starts to notice strange happenings in the building, and becomes convinced that it is haunted by a young boy of a similar age to Danny. At first Paul refuses to countenance her observations - but he soon realises that his wife may be telling the truth after all.

Travis (Corey Haim) and his mother Nora (Barbara Williams) find and befriend a super-intelligent dog and later discover that it was produced through genetic manipulation in a top secret government research laboratory. Trouble is, the dog is being hunted down by another genetically-modified creature and, far from being man's best friend, this one has been bred to be the ultimate killing machine.

Controversial horror auteur David Cronenberg gained his first international success with this conspiracy thriller, featuring a notorious exploding head sequence. A group of psychics, nicknamed 'scanners' for their ability to read minds, realise they can also induce massive brain haemorrhaging in their subjects by locking into their nervous system. A 'good' scanner is sent out by doctors to track down the psychics who are using their powers for evil purposes.