Would it have been possible for the First World War to be avoided? Steve Cliffe, author of Churchill, Kitchener and Lloyd George: First World Warlords, believes so as did David Lloyd George, Britain’s wartime prime minister. In a bloody act of annihilation that killed over half a million young British men, George was one of three powerful personalities who indelibly stamped their authority and influence on the conduct and final outcome of ‘the war to end all wars’. Of the other two, Winston Churchill became better known for his role in the Second World War, and Lord Kitchener was arguably the greatest instigator of Britain’s war effort. With his image stamped on the iconic ‘Your country needs you’ enlistment poster during the war, Kitchener exerted tremendous influence on both politicians and a lost generation of British youth. Those who start wars seldom finish them, and Kitchener, tragically, was no exception to this grim rule. Illustrations: 40 black-and-white photographs

This “splendid book” recounts the relationship between twentieth-century Britain’s two great wartime prime ministers (The Spectator). Both were outsiders. Neither attended university. Above all, both loved political sparring—often together, in the epic parliamentary battles of the start of the century. Winston Churchill and David Lloyd George shared a deeply personal friendship. For ten years between 1904 and 1914 they met every day for a private discussion. Lloyd George profoundly influenced Churchill’s political philosophy and played a formative role in his career. Drawing on unseen family archive material, Robert Lloyd George provides an intimate biography of the friendship between his great-grandfather and Churchill, from their public politics to their private passions. He throws fresh light on the two greatest statesmen of twentieth century Britain in peace and in war, and on one of the most enduring friendships in modern politics. “Lively and readable.” —Mail on Sunday

Rintala makes a unique case for the role that friendship plays in politics.

A new study of one of Britain's most famous soldiers.

The two most significant British political figures of the 20th-century, Churchill and Lloyd George were political rivals but personal friends. Between them their ministerial careers spanned 70 years and two world wars. Although they could not have been more different temperamentally, and often disagreed violently about politics, theirs was "the longest political friendship in the life of Great Britain" and Churchill was the only person outside his family to call Lloyd George "David". Richard Toye's book is a dynamic account of their relationship. Drawing on diaries and letters, some never before published, he explores their long-standing friendship and rivalry, and the impact they had on each other's careers.

When the Great War broke out, Kitchener, with the foresight lacking in many of his contemporaries, insisted that it would last at least three years and that he must raise an army of 3 million men. This began with an immediate recruitment of 100,000 volunteers, and the familiar poster campaign image of him with the line "Your country needs you". Major battles and initiatives of the Great War are recreated in a dramatic narrative history which does justice to Kitchener's masterly planning. This superb double volume biography will transform our view of Kitchener and the First World War.