Winston S Churchill Volume 7

"Originally published in 1986 by William Heinemann Ltd. in Great Britain and by Houghton Mifflin in the United States"--Title page verso.

The seventh volume of the acclaimed, official biography: “An engrossing history of Churchill’s crucial role in the grand alliance of World War II” (Los Angeles Times). This seventh volume in the epic, multivolume biography of Winston S. Churchill takes up the story of “Churchill’s War” with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and carries it on to the triumph of V-E Day, May 8, 1945, the end of the war in Europe. Acclaimed historian Martin Gilbert charts Churchill’s course through the storms of Anglo-American and Anglo-Soviet rivalry, and between the conflicting ambitions of other forces embattled against the common enemy: between General de Gaulle, his compatriots in France, and the French Empire; between Tito and other Yugoslav leaders; between the Greek Communists and monarchists; between the Polish government exiled in London and the Soviet-controlled “Lublin” Poles. Amid all these volatile concerns, Churchill had to find the path of prudence, of British national interest, and, above all, of the earliest possible victory over Nazism. In doing so he was guided by the most secret sources of British Intelligence: the daily interception of the messages of the German High Command. These pages reveal, as never before, the links between this secret information and the resulting moves and successes achieved by the Allies. “A milestone, a monument, a magisterial achievement . . . rightly regarded as the most comprehensive life ever written of any age.” —Andrew Roberts, historian and author of The Storm of War “The most scholarly study of Churchill in war and peace ever written.” —Herbert Mitgang, The New York Times

The two newest volumes of "The Churchill Biography" cover crucial years of World War II and the last years of the great statesman's life, respectively. Volumes 7 and 8 conclude this unparalleled multivolume biography of Churchill, begun by his son Randolph in 1962 and finished here by scholar Martin Gilbert.

This volume takes up the story of "Churchill's War" with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and carries it on to the triumph of V-E Day, May 8, 1945, the end of the war in Europe. Within a week of Pearl Harbor, Hitler and Mussolini had declared war on the United States. Thus Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin were now leaders of the great alliance that held the assurance of ultimate victory. But in 1942, the first year of the new alliance, the war went badly on every front, and Churchill faced serious criticism at home. In this volume, Martin Gilbert charts Churchill's tortuous course through the storms of Anglo-American and Anglo-Soviet suspicion and rivalry and between the clashing priorities and ambitions of other forces embattled against the common enemy, between General de Gaulle and his compatriots in France and the French Empire, between Tito and other Yugoslav leaders, between the Greek Communists and monarchists, between the Polish government exiled in London and the Soviet-controlled "Lublin" Poles. Amid all these cares and dangers Churchill had to find the course of prudence, of British national interest, and, above all, of the earliest possible victory over Nazism. In doing so he was guided by the most secret sources of British Intelligence, the daily interception of the messages of the German High Command. These pages reveal, as never before, the links between this secret information and the resulting moves and successes achieved by the Allies.

In this concluding volume of Gilbert's renowned series, readers see Churchill at the pinnacle of wartime power as Britain's victorious leader in 1945. The many-sided nature of Churchill's abilities and his achievements fill this work with a multicolored tapestry of people and events. Two 8-page photo inserts.

The first volume of this authoritative biography chronicles the prime minister’s youth from birth to early adulthood: “An intimate, eloquent testimonial” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review). Winston S. Churchill’s son, Randolph, delivers a vivid, personal portrait of his father in this first part of an eight-volume biography that is widely considered the “most scholarly study of Churchill in war and peace ever written” (The New York Times). Told through a rich treasure trove of the Churchill’s personal letters, this volume covers his life from early childhood to his return to England from an American lecture tour, on the day of Queen Victoria’s funeral in 1900, in order to embark on his political career. In the opening pages, the account of his birth in 1874 is presented through letters of his family. The subject comes on the scene with his own words in a letter to his mother, written when he was seven. His later letters, as a child, as a schoolboy at Harrow, as a cadet at Sandhurst, and as a subaltern in India, show the development of his mind and character, his ambition and awakening interests, which were to merge into a unique genius destined for world leadership. An astounding narrative of a formidable man coming into his own and the times in which he lived, this portrait is a “milestone, a monument, a magisterial achievement . . . rightly regarded as the most comprehensive life ever written of any age.” (Andrew Roberts, historian and author of The Storm of War).

"This volume starts with the outbreak of war in September 1939 and ends with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. In it, Martin Gilbert reveals not only how each decision was reached, but what influences lay behind it, whether of individuals or of information reaching Churchill from the most secret source of British Intelligence. Drawing on a remarkable diversity of material, including the War Cabinet and other Government records, as well as Churchill's own archive, the diaries and letters of his private secretariat, and the recollections of those who worked most closely with him, Martin Gilbert reveals the full extent of Churchill's personal contribution to every aspect of the struggle. On the day Hitler invaded Poland, Churchill, aged sixty-four, had been out of office for ten years. Two days later, on 3 September 1939, he became First Lord of the Admiralty, in charge of British naval policy and at the center of war direction. On 10 May 1940 he became Prime Minister, leading his nation during a time of grave danger and setbacks. His first year and a half as Prime Minister included the Dunkirk evacuation, the fall of France, the Battle of Britain, the Blitz, the Battle of the Atlantic, the struggle in the Western Desert, and Hitler's invasion of Russia. By the end of 1940, Britain under Churchill's leadership had survived the onslaught and was making plans to continue the war against an enemy of unlimited ambition and ferocious will. One of Churchill's inner circle said: "We who worked with Churchill every day of the war still saw at most a quarter of his daily tasks and worries." Martin Gilbert has pieced together the whole, setting in context much hitherto scattered and secret evidence, in order to give an intimate and fascinating account of the architect of Britain's 'finest hour'"--Bloomsbury collection.