A dramatic evaluation of the impact of war on Winston Churchill's leadership abilities draws on the World War II prime minister's writings as a war correspondent, journalist, and historian, exploring how his early military experiences informed his subsequent decisions and helped him protect Europe in later conflicts.

'I would choose this account over and above the rest. It is a fabulous book: full of perceptive insight that conveys all the tragedy, triumph, humour and intense drama of Churchill's time as wartime leader; and it is incredibly moving as a result' James Holland, Literary Review

An analytical investigation into Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s decision-making process during every stage of World War II. When Winston Churchill accepted the position of Prime Minister in May 1940, he insisted in also becoming Minister of Defence. This, though, meant that he alone would be responsible for the success or failure of Britain’s war effort. It also meant that he would be faced with many monumental challenges and utterly crucial decisions upon which the fate of Britain and the free world rested. With the limited resources available to the UK, Churchill had to pinpoint where his country’s priorities lay. He had to respond to the collapse of France, decide if Britain should adopt a defensive or offensive strategy, choose if Egypt and the war in North Africa should take precedence over Singapore and the UK’s empire in the East, determine how much support to give the Soviet Union, and how much power to give the United States in controlling the direction of the war. In this insightful investigation into Churchill’s conduct during the Second World War, Allen Packwood, BA, MPhil (Cantab), FRHistS, the Director of the Churchill Archives Centre, enables the reader to share the agonies and uncertainties faced by Churchill at each crucial stage of the war. How Churchill responded to each challenge is analyzed in great detail and the conclusions Packwood draws are as uncompromising as those made by Britain’s wartime leader as he negotiated his country through its darkest days.

"First published in Great Britain by Macmillan"--Title page verso.

Combat, cigars, and whiskeyÑfrom the jungles of Cuba and the mountains of the Northwest Frontier, to the banks of the Nile and the plains of South Africa, comes this action-packed tale of Winston ChurchillÕs adventures as a war correspondent in the Age of Empire.

A unique and evocative portrait of World War II—and a charming coming-of-age story—from the private diaries of Winston Churchill's youngest daughter, Mary. “I am not a great or important personage, but this will be the diary of an ordinary person's life in war time. Though I may never live to read it again, perhaps it may not prove altogether uninteresting as a record of my life.” In 1939, seventeen-year-old Mary found herself in an extraordinary position at an extraordinary time: it was the outbreak of World War II and her father, Winston Churchill, had been appointed First Lord of the Admiralty; within months he would become prime minister. The young Mary Churchill was uniquely placed to observe this remarkable historical moment, and her diaries—most of which have never been published until now—provide an immediate view of the great events of the war, as well as exchanges and intimate moments with her father. But these diaries also capture what it was like to be a young woman during wartime. An impulsive and spirited writer, full of coming-of-age self-consciousness and joie de vivre, Mary's diaries are untrammeled by self-censorship or nostalgia. From aid raid sirens at 10 Downing Street to seeing action with the women’s branch of the British Army, from cocktail parties with presidents and royals to accompanying her father on key diplomatic trips, Mary's wartime diaries are full of color, rich in historical insight, and a charming and intimate portrait of life alongside Winston Churchill during a key moment of the twentieth century.

This magnificent new volume gives you exclusive access to the Churchill War Rooms, bringing you closer than ever before to where Churchill not only ran the war - but won it.

Renowned Churchill historian Sir Martin Gilbert examines Winston Churchill’s War Leadership. Continue to Pester, Nag and Bite is the complete text of the 2004 Barbara Frum Historical Lecture, given at the University of Toronto. This annual lecture “on a subject of contemporary interest in historical perspective” was established in memory of Barbara Frum and will be broadcast on CBC Radio One’s Ideas. “The problem is not winning the war, but persuading people to let you win it.” —Winston Churchill Continue To Pester, Nag And Bite is a brilliant, in-depth look at Winston Churchill’s leadership during the Second World War, written by the world’s top authority on Churchill. By looking behind the public figure and wartime propaganda images, Gilbert reveals a very human, sensitive and often tormented man, who nevertheless found the strength to lead his nation forward from the darkest and most dangerous of times, towards the defeat of a tenacious enemy. Today’s readers will be fascinated to compare Churchill’s tactics and attitudes with those of modern-day leaders. By looking behind the public figure and wartime propaganda images, Gilbert reveals a very human, sensitive, and often tormented man, who nevertheless found the strength to lead his nation forward from the darkest and most dangerous of times, towards the defeat of a tenacious enemy.

Churchill's War in Words transports the reader back to the storm-struck days of the Second World War. Focussing only on words used at the time, it reveals the way that Winston Churchill talked about the conflict in public and in private - and the way that he himself was viewed at the time by family, friends, politicians, military leaders, staff, voters, allies and enemies. Presented in chronological order and accompanied by short year-by-year introductions, the quotations convey afresh the full force of Churchill's oratory, the wit he displayed in the face of often appalling odds, and the hopes and fears that he inspired in those around him. Together they reveal to the modern reader what it was truly like to be locked in a struggle in which victory - or total defeat - was yet to be decided. Together they tell the extraordinary story of Churchill's War in Words.