His Finest Hour: A Brief Life of Winston Churchill

Description

'A gem. Brief, authoritative and fair in its judgements - an intensely readable introduction to this most complex and fascinating man' - Graham Farmelo, award-winning author of The Strangest Man A new and dynamic reappraisal of Winston Churchill, and his finest hour in 1940-1. Who was Winston Churchill? Even fifity years after his death he is one of the most iconic figures in British history: as a young man he was a maverick journalist, his many positions in politics before 1940 marked him out as a courageous but foolhardy man. Yet it is Churchill's record in war, which has recently been questioned, that confirms his genius as a military commander and national leader - someone who understood the dangers of Nazi Germany before 1939; someone uniquely capable to lead the empire through the turmoil of the Second World War. Catherwood argues that it was Churchill's stand in 1940-41 that saved Britain and only he was able to bring together the allies that eventually defeated Hitler in 1945. Catherwood has produced a challenging yet accessible reassessment of the life and career of Winston Churchill, lion of British history and flawed hero.

Christopher Catherwood is a leading scholar of Churchill. He is the supervisor at Homerton College Cambridge, and has been a research fellow at Churchill College. He is the author of Winston's Folly and A Brief History of the Middle East.

Christopher Catherwood is a master at explaining complex historical issues in an admirably clear way. In this fascinating account of Churchill's career he illustrates some very important features of 20th century history, at the same time as presenting a very human portrait of that great figure. This is a very fine book indeed. A gem. Brief, authoritative and fair in its judgements - an intensely readable introduction to this most complex and fascinating man. - Graham Farmelo, author of The Strangest Man, winner of the Costa Biography Prize.