Their Finest Hour

Who was Winston Churchill? Even fifty years after his death, he is one of the most iconic figures in British history. As a young man he was a maverick journalist; his many positions in politics before 1940 marked him as a courageous but foolhardy man. Yet it is Churchill’s record in war, which has recently been questioned, that confirms his genius as a military commander and national leader—someone who understood the dangers of Nazi Germany before 1939 and someone uniquely capable to lead the empire through the turmoil of the Second World War. Christopher Catherwood argues that it was Churchill’s stand in 1940-41 that saved Britain and that only he was able to bring together the allies that eventually defeated Hitler in 1945. Catherwood has produced a challenging yet lively reassessment of the life and career of Winston Churchill, lion of British history and flawed hero.

The 1952 Coast Guard mission to save the crews of two oil tankers that were torn in half by the force of one of New England's worst nor'easters.

Two lives. One hour. A lifetime consequence. I believe in choice, not fate. I chose to nurse a broken heart at the kitschy country bar that night. I chose to let Isaac Cordova buy me a drink. I chose to spend one hour with a near stranger in an attempt to soothe my pain. No last names, no details about our lives, just one hour where I was allowed to forget, and then we would never see each other again. But was it a choice when I ran into him five years later? I needed help, and he was the only person equipped to give it. Our instant attraction doesn¿t feel like much of a choice either, but it doesn't matter. Everything has changed. Now my choices impact other people.And what will I choose? Do I keep Isaac out?Do I dare to let him in?

This eBook edition of "Their Finest Hour" has been formatted to the highest digital standards and adjusted for readability on all devices. Their Finest Hour covers the period in World War 2 after the fall of France when Britain stood alone, with victorious Germany and Italy engaged in mortal attack upon them, with Soviet Russia a hostile neutral actively aiding Hitler, and Japan an unknowable menace. Churchill labeled the "moral of the work" as follows: "In War: Resolution, In Defeat: Defiance, In Victory: Magnanimity, In Peace: Goodwill"

Donated.

Longlisted for the 2009 Orange Prize for Fiction.

This book recreates the tensions and uncertainties of the events of 1940.