{"product_id":"in-command-of-history-churchill-fighting-and-writing-the-second-world-war-9780679457435","title":"In Command of History: Churchill Fighting and Writing the Second World War","description":"\u003cp\u003eWinston Churchill was one of the giants of the twentieth century. As Britains prime minister from 1940 to 1945  he courageously led his nation and the world away from appeasement  into war  and on to triumph over the Axis dictators. His classic six-volume account of those years  The Second World War  has shaped our perceptions of the conflict and secured Churchills place as its most important chronicler. Now  for the first time  a book explains how Churchill wrote this masterwork  and in the process enhances and often revises our understanding of one of historys most complex  vivid  and eloquent leaders.  In Command of History sheds new light on Churchill in his multiple  often overlapping roles as warrior  statesman  politician  and historian. Citing excerpts from the drafts and correspondence for Churchills magnum opus  David Reynolds opens our eyes to the myriad forces that shaped its final form.  We see how Churchills manuscripts were vetted by Whitehall to conceal secrets such as the breaking of the Enigma code by British spymasters at Bletchley Park  and how Churchill himself edited the volumes to avoid offending postwar statesmen such as Tito  Charles de Gaulle  and Dwight D. Eisenhower. We explore his confusions about the true story of the atomic bomb  learn of his second thoughts about Stalin  and watch him repackage himself as a consistent advocate of the D-Day landings.  In Command of History is a major work that forces us to reconsider much received wisdom about World War II. It also peels back the covers from an unjustly neglected period of Churchills life  his second wilderness years  19451951. During this time Churchill  now over seventy  wrote himself into history  politicked himself back into 10 Downing Street  and delivered some of the most vital oratory of his career  including his pivotal iron curtain speech.  Exhaustively researched and dazzlingly written  this is a revelatory portrait of one of the worlds most profiled figures  a work by a historian in full command of his craft.  A fascinating account that accomplishes the impossible: Reynolds actually finds something new and interesting to say about one of the most chronicled characters of all time. The New York Times Book Review  A New York Times NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR  A BEST HISTORY OF THE YEAR SELECTION The New York Sun\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45647859908661,"sku":"ByrdShop_0679457437","price":24.02,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780679457435.jpg?v=1781698431","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/in-command-of-history-churchill-fighting-and-writing-the-second-world-war-9780679457435","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}