Churchill

The definitive biography of a peerless British politician. Winston Churchill (1874-1965) is often proclaimed as the greatest Briton in history and one of the world's eminent leaders. Born into a dazzling political family, Churchill was awkward and eccentric as a young man but flourished in the army, where he served in the North West Frontier, Sudan and during the Second Boer War as a successful war correspondent. As a politician he was brash and petulant, but succeeded in holding most of the major offices of state, acting as Home Secretary and Chancellor of the Exchequer as well as First Lord of the Admiralty and Secretary of State for War. On the resignation of Neville Chamberlain in 1940, Churchill became Prime Minister and led Britain through some of its darkest times. Charismatic and adventurous, egotistical, visionary and unconventional, Churchill was an enigma, his life one of paradox. A child of his time, his life spanned two world wars and the rise and fall of the Victorian British Empire. His death marked the end of a British era which gave way to the American century. In this, the definitive biography, Norman Rose brilliantly illuminates the man behind the myth, producing a fresh, balanced and incisive portrait of an extraordinary life and of the legacy that remains undimmed to this day.Praise for Churchill: An Unruly Life:
ʻThis balance and breadth, this combination of sympathy and detachment, and this wide-ranging historical vision, mark out this book as the best one-volume life yet written.' - David Cannadine, Observer 'Admirably written, shrewd and perceptive ... it is difficult to think of a better single-volume biography than this.' - Robert Blake, TLS 'Norman Rose's straight narrative of Churchill's life is ... a minor masterpiece. It tells a colourful story vividly and elegantly. It is probably the best one-volume biography available.' - Anthony Howard, Sunday Times 'Professor Rose's Churchill: An Unruly Life is the best to date ... Although Rose does ample justice to his subject's manifest weaknesses, he never loses sight of Churchill's grandeur ... This biography, though sometimes harsh, is notably fair.' - Philip Ziegler, Daily Telegraph Born and educated in England, Norman Rose has held the Chair of International Relations at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem and is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. His books include biographies of Chaim Weizmann and Lord Vansittart.