This biography is a story of adventure. It follows Winston Churchill from his earliest days to his moments of triumph. The author highlights Churchill's qualities in peace and war, not least as an orator. Using Churchill's most personal letters and the recollections of his contemporaries, both friends and enemies, the author goes behind the scenes of some of the stormiest and most fascinating political events of the 20th century, dominated by two world wars, and culminating in the era of the Iron Curtain and the hydrogen bomb.

Author Biography

Martin Gilbert was born in London in 1936. After two years of National Service, he read Modern History at Magdalen College, Oxford. In 1962 he was elected to a Fellowship at Merton College, Oxford, and in the same year became research assistant to Randolph Churchill, then writing the first two volumes of his father's official biography. On Randolph's death in 1968, Gilbert was asked to complete the biography. The eighth and final volume was published in 1988. In addition to these narrative volumes, Gilbert has continued to edit the multi-volume documentary series of Churchill's letters and documents. His numerous publications include Churchill- A Photographic Portrait and Continue to Pester, Nag and Bite- Churchill's War Leadership (both available from Pimlico). He was knighted in 1995.