As one of the most admired political leaders of the twentieth century, Winston Churchill holds iconic status in popular memory. But in this incisive new biography, acclaimed military historian Richard Holmes offers a remarkable reappraisal of Churchill by examining the influences that shaped his character. Drawing upon never-before-seen materials such as letters between the young Churchill and his parents, Holmes paints the most complete portrait to date of the man who stood up to Hitler and led his people to victory against all odds. Detailing the decisive events of Churchill's life -- from his childhood to his experiences in the Boer War through his rapid rise in politics -- Holmes demonstrates the central role Churchill's character played in the key decisions of his public life. With an already inflated sense of self, Churchill had several lucky escapes in combat -- in the Boer War and in the trenches of WWI -- convincing him that he was saved for a reason and was destined for greatness. In the Footsteps of Churchill uncovers a surprisingly different Churchill -- both admirable and difficult -- through the lens of his character.

As a young man Winston Churchill was greatly influenced by Bourke Cockran, a charismatic New York City congressman who was Churchill's widowed mother's lover and friend. Cockran was a brilliant trial lawyer and adviser to American presidents. He took young Winston under his wing and gave him unusual insights into the politics of the time. It was a particularly important relationship that shaped Churchill's thinking and political outlook; it also provided a window into the United States that he would take with him all his life. The story is also biographical, told in part as fiction and reproducing for the first time the private correspondence between the two men.

Illustrated with photographs from the private family album, this book follows in the footsteps of some of Sir Winston Churchill's famous trips to the four corners of the world, by his granddaughter Celia Sandys. She visits South Africa, Morocco, France, the USA - amongst others - and recounts how Sir Winston's trips not only changed the course of world history, but helped to shape the man who has come to be known as 'our Greatest Briton'.

Clark takes us on a geographical journey through Churchill's life, following his footsteps through Britain and Ireland. More than half a century after his death, Winston Churchill, the most significant British statesman of the twentieth century, continues to intrigue us. Peter Clark's book, however, is not merely another Churchill biography. Churchill's Britain takes us on a geographical journey through Churchill's life, leading us in Churchill's footsteps through locations in Britain and Ireland that are tied to key aspects of his biography. Some are familiar-Blenheim Palace, where he was born; Chartwell, his beloved house in the country; and the Cabinet War Rooms, where he planned the campaigns of World War II. But we also are taken to his schools, his parliamentary constituencies, locations of famous speeches, the place where he started to paint, the tobacco shop where he bought his cigars, and the graves of his family and close friends. Clark brings us close to the statesman Churchill by visiting sites that were important to the story of his long life, from the site where his father proposed to his American mother on the Isle of Wight to his grave in a country churchyard in Oxfordshire. Designed as a gazetteer with helpful regional maps, Churchill's Britain can be dipped into, consulted by the traveler on a Churchill tour of Britain, or read straight through--and no matter how it's read, it will deliver fresh insights into this extraordinary man.

An engaging and detailed study of Winston Churchill's career as a military commander, from his early experiences in Britain's colonial wars, through his battlefield experience in World War I, to his strategic command in World War II. This book examines how in high office he got it both right and wrong. From his earliest days Winston Churchill was an extreme risk taker and he carried this into adulthood. Today he is widely hailed as Britain's greatest wartime leader and politician. Deep down though, he was foremost a warlord. Just like his ally Stalin, and his arch enemies Hitler and Mussolini, Churchill could not help himself and insisted on personally directing the strategic conduct of World War II. For better or worse he insisted on being political master and military commander. Again like his wartime contemporaries, he had a habit of not heeding the advice of his generals. The results of this were disasters in Norway, North Africa, Greece, and Crete during 1940–41. His fruitless Dodecanese campaign in 1943 also ended in defeat. Churchill's pig-headedness over supporting the Italian campaign in defiance of the Riviera landings culminated in him threatening to resign and bring down the British Government. Yet on occasions he got it just right, his refusal to surrender in 1940, the British miracle at Dunkirk, and victory in the Battle of Britain, showed that he was a much-needed decisive leader. Nor did he shy away from difficult decisions, such as the destruction of the French Fleet to prevent it falling into German hands and his subsequent war against Vichy France. In this fascinating new book, acclaimed historian Anthony Tucker-Jones explores the record of Winston Churchill as a military commander, assessing how the military experiences of his formative years shaped him for the difficult military decisions he took in office. This book assesses his choices in the some of the most controversial and high-profile campaigns of World War II, and how in high office his decision making was both right and wrong.

From the bestselling author of Destiny of the Republic, this thrilling biographical account of the life and legacy of Wintson Churchill is a "nail-biter and top-notch character study rolled into one" (The New York Times). At the age of twenty-four, Winston Churchill was utterly convinced it was his destiny to become prime minister of England. He arrived in South Africa in 1899, valet and crates of vintage wine in tow, to cover the brutal colonial war the British were fighting with Boer rebels and jumpstart his political career. But just two weeks later, Churchill was taken prisoner. Remarkably, he pulled off a daring escape—traversing hundreds of miles of enemy territory, alone, with nothing but a crumpled wad of cash, four slabs of chocolate, and his wits to guide him. Bestselling author Candice Millard spins an epic story of bravery, savagery, and chance encounters with a cast of historical characters—including Rudyard Kipling, Lord Kitchener, and Mohandas Gandhi—with whom Churchill would later share the world stage. But Hero of the Empire is more than an extraordinary adventure story, for the lessons Churchill took from the Boer War would profoundly affect twentieth century history.

"From one of its keenest observers, a brilliant, witty journey through the "special relationship" between England and America which has done so much to shape the world, from World War 2 to Brexit, through the lens of the fateful bonds between President and Prime Minister"--

‘Churchill’s Little Redhead’ is the autobiography of much-travelled author and television presenter, Celia Sandys, Winston Churchill’s granddaughter. In 1959 she accompanied her grandparents on the ‘Christina’, Aristotle Onassis’s superyacht, for a grand tour of the Mediterranean with another guest, the legendary diva, Maria Callas. During the extraordinary journey, sixteen-year-old Celia witnessed the burgeoning romance between Onassis and Callas, a love affair which resulted in two divorces within a year. Celia was born in war-ravaged London in 1943, the daughter of Duncan Sandys, her grandfather’s Minister of Supply in his war cabinet, and Diana Churchill. Celia recalls in much detail post-war rationing and the make-do atmosphere that prevailed at the time. In her spirited book she describes the ups and downs of her three marriages, from which she bore three sons and a daughter. The sad death of her divorced mother is touched upon with tenderness, and the death of her favourite aunt, Sarah, who had spent several years deteriorating into alcoholism following the sudden death of her beloved husband is narrated with much understanding and obvious love. Once her children had flown the nest, Celia developed a new career as an author and wrote three books on her grandfather. One of which, ‘Chasing Churchill’, led her to present it as a television series, in which she travelled the world re-tracing her grandfather’s footsteps: from his military escapades in Cuba, the Boer War, his vital wartime meetings with President Roosevelt and countless other visits to his ‘other country’ the United States. A thoroughly modern and independent woman of spirit, Celia’s eventful life makes for a fascinating read.

Discovering painting at the age of 40, Sir Winston Churchill revelled in his new pastime. He went on to produce over 550 paintings, with over 130 of them on the French Riviera. The fellow artist and Riviera resident Paul Rafferty has tracked down many of the locations Churchill used in Provence, an area the great man so aptly called 'paintatious'. Many of these locations are newly discovered and his 'fearless impressions' stand alongside to illustrate how Churchill captured them on canvas.