Winston Churchill 'mobilized the English language and sent it into battle'. President John F. Kennedy conferring Honorary US Citizenship, April 1963Winston Churchill was the most eloquent and expressive statesman of his age. When Britain stood alone and all but defenceless, with his resolute and pugnacious tone and puckish sense of humour he inspired his fellow-countrymen to resist, to fight and to conquer. While the definitive collection of Churchill's speeches fills eight volumes, here, his grandson, Winston S. Churchill, has put together a personal selection of his favourite speeches in a single volume. He has chosen from his grandfather's entire output covering the whole of Churchill's life, from his maiden speech to his last days. It includes Churchill's best-known speeches as well as some that have never been published in popular form.

Author Biography

Winston Churchill (1874-1965) was educated at Harrow and Sandhurst, and after several years in the army, became a newspaper correspondent and then an MP. After Chamberlain's defeat in May 1940, Churchill formed a coalition government and as Prime Minister led Britain through the Second World War. Defeated in the July 1945 election, he became Leader of the Opposition, and then became Prime Minister once more in 1951. In his last years he was often described as 'the greatest living Englishman'. He was knighted in 1953, and won the Nobel Prize for Literature the same year. His grandson, Winston S. Churchill (born 1940), has also been a writer, journalist and politician.