Winston's War: Churchill 1940-1945

About this book

A vivid and incisive portrait of Winston Churchill during wartime from acclaimed historian Max Hastings Winstons War captures the full range of Churchills endlessly fascinating character. At once brilliant and infuriating self-important and courageous Hastingss Churchill comes brashly to life as never before. Beginning in 1940 when popular demand elevated Churchill to the role of prime minister and concluding with the end of the war Hastings shows us Churchill at his most intrepid and essential when by sheer force of will he kept Britain from collapsing in the face of what looked like certain defeat. Later we see his significance ebb as the United States enters the war and the Soviets turn the tide on the Eastern Front. But Churchill Hastings reminds us knew as well as anyone that the war would be dominated by others and he managed his relationships with the other Allied leaders strategically so as to maintain Britains influence and limit Stalins gains. At the same time Churchill faced political peril at home a situation for which he himself was largely to blame. Hastings shows how Churchill nearly squandered the miraculous escape of the British troops at Dunkirk and failed to address fundamental flaws in the British Army. His tactical inaptitude and departmental meddling won him few friends in the military and by 1942 many were calling for him to cede operational control. Nevertheless Churchill managed to exude a public confidence that brought the nation through the bitter war. Hastings rejects the traditional Churchill hagiography while still managing to capture what he calls Churchills appetite for the fray. Certain to be a classic Winstons War is a riveting profile of one of the greatest leaders of the twentieth century.