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Summary: In London There Was Such a Man
Review: Those seven words strike like a thunderclap at the end of one of the most passionate and compelling openings you'll ever read. The introduction captured my imagination in a manner that recalls the first time I saw Star Wars as a ten year old; it alone is worth the sales price of the book. The work that follows will hold the reader's attention in a vice-like grip. Manchester manages to imitate Churchill's captivating storytelling style while peppering his work with references that will make you want to skip to the bibliography and read his sources. A perfect example of both qualities comes at the introduction, where Manchester writes: "It had been over a thousand years since Alfred the Great had inspired his countrymen and led them into battle transformed. Now, in this new exigency, faced with the mightiest conqueror Europe had ever known, England needed another Alfred.." It was all I could do not to drop the book and go running to look up Alfred the Great. Do not miss this opportunity to draw inspiration from this impressive biography of "the greatest English statesman since Disraeli."
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Summary: Exciting, very readable, as much history as biography.
Review: A history of the events leading to WWII as well as a continuation of the Churchill biography. Does not get bogged
down in trivia. Excitement builds as war approaches, the outcome is placed in such doubt you will want to page ahead
and see if he really becomes Prime Minister after all!
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Summary: Manchester Evokes the Age
Review: Persons wishing to get the complete, official story of the life of Winston Churchill had best get a copy of the official biography by Martin Gilbert (8 vols.). However, for those who lack the monumental time and patience it takes to wade through the tens of thousands of pages in the official bio, (as I am now doing) this is an admirable biography. Where Manchester succeeds (and where Gilbert fails) is in painting a portrait of the age into which Churchill was born. Churchill is next to impossible to understand in the context of our modern society. His character and something of his essence become clear, however, due to Manchester's vivid, insightful, and entertaining explication of the late Victorian era in Britain. Churchill was, as manchester deftly explains, the last of the Victorians. Readers are transported back in time, to feel what it was like to be an aristocrat, the elite of the elite, in the capital of the Empire upon which the sun never set. Bravo for William Manchester. One can only hope the third and final volume of this biography series is not long in coming
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Summary: Volume 2 of the life of Winston Spencer Churchill
Review: "The Last Lion: Alone, 1932-1940," the second of William Manchester's projected three-volume biography of Winston Spencer Churchill, continues telling the story of the life of the 20th century's greatest statesman. This volume covers the eight-year period from the beginning of Churchill's longest period in the political "wilderness," to his rise to power as Prime Minister of Great Britain at the beginning of World War II. I think this book is even better than the first volume, "The Last Lion: Visions of Glory, 1874-1932." Manchester contends that the inter-war years, and not his years as Prime Minister, were Churchill's personal "finest hour." Politically ostracized by two successive Prime Ministers - Stanley Baldwin and Neville Chamberlain, the main architects of Britain's policy of appeasing Nazi Germany - Churchill was one of only a handful of men in Britain to speak out in favor of increased military preparedness as a means of countering the growing Nazi threat in Europe. Only when it became obvious in the late 1930s that the appeasement of Hitler had failed, did the British nation turn to the one man who had consistently advocated standing up to the Nazi dictator: Winston Spencer Churchill As he did in the first volume of Churchill's life, Manchester provides an insightful historical overview of the times in which Churchill lived. Especially fascinating to me was the account of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's 1938 trip to Munich, where the most infamous act of appeasing Hitler - the sellout of Czechoslovakia - took place, and where Chamberlain believed he had achieved "peace in our times." "The Last Lion: Alone, 1932-1940" once again clearly demonstrates why William Manchester is one of the pre-eminent biographers at work today. The book is written with obviously meticulous scholarship, insightful analysis, and crisp, sparkling prose; I have yet to find a better account of Churchill's life. Now, if only Mr. Manchester would give us that third volume . . .
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Summary: Great News For Manchester Fans! Third Book to be Completed!!
Review: The long awaited third book in a trilogy about the stupendous life of Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill by renowned historian William Manchester is to be completed at last! Finally, millions of devout fans will be able to buy the book, set for publication in 2007.
Before he died, Manchester chose a long- time friend, admirer, and writer to finish the task.
Paul Reid, a former feature writer at a Florida newspaper has been a life long history- lover and admirerer of both Manchester and Churchill.
Interested in Mr. Reid, I read some of his articles. They are amazing. Evocotive of Mr. Manchester's style in the way they flow easily along, the articles are a great read, no matter the subject.
I am excited to hear that the book is coming out in 2007, and will note the date on my calendar.
IT'S COMING AT LAST!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Summary: A triumph of writing
Review: This, the second (and apparently final) volume of William Manchester's projected biographical trilogy of Sir Winston Churchill, is a triumph of writing style. It will be read for centuries to come, like Boswell's life of Samuel Johnson, as an example of what the English language can be at its best. A biographer of Churchill faces a terrific challenge. He or she has to be able to write, if not as well, at least almost as well as Churchill himself. After a lifetime of journalism and historical writing, Manchester was able to finish this book, the dramatic story of how Churchill came together with the nation that had rejected him. Together, these two forces, Churchill and the British nation - and Manchester correctly personalizes them both, sees them both as equal characters in a dramatic story - forged a partnership to fight Hitler and save the world from disaster. It would probably be a lot easier for all of us if we all knew what it is like to have courage. I am writing this review at a time when we Americans, and the people of the world, are being called upon to have quite a lot of it. Apparently, the universe is built in such a way that we human beings must try to be courageous whether we want to be so or not. The true reason of history, and of historical books like this one, is to hold a mirror up to courage and the other human virtues, to show us what these virtues are like so that we must follow them if we are able to do so. Like Thucydides said, happiness comes from being free, and freedom comes from being courageous. It is too bad that this is where Manchester's great biography of Churchill must end, but he has brought the story to its climax. The work of people like Manchester is an inspiration to other writers, and perhaps some other historian will appear some day to finish the work begun and broken off here.
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Summary: GRIPPING PRELUDE TO WWII
Review: Winston Churchill was one of the most dynamic leaders of the 20th century and Mr. Manchester does not disappoint in his gripping follow-up to Vol. 1 of THE LAST LION. We're told in sometimes too much detail Churchill's activities at home and at his desk between the two world wars: painting, fixing up his beloved Chartwell, writing endlessly to pay for his lavish lifestyle during a world depression and keeping tabs on those bullies across the Channel. In his "wilderness years" when he was a political pariah, he boldly warned over and over the threat to world peace but was laughed at and ultimately ignored. The gripping finale leads up to Churchill's restored to power as the world teeters on the edge. The beautiful characterizations of the main players in this drama are just one of the many attributes to be gained from this wonderful bio. Sadly, it's an incomplete story because Mr. Manchester, due to poor health, cannot complete this series and refuses to let someone help him --- I cannot blame him as the writing is very singular and a monumental job would face his (in effect) ghostwriter. We must therefore satisfy ourselves with what we have and rue the writer who thinks he's got all the time in the world to finish what he started.
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Summary: Give the Man a Cigar
Review: Manchester begins the book by describing what life for Winston Churchill was like in the 1930s. He goes into detail about Churchill's home Chartwell and the expenses Winston had to meet to live his lifestyle. Winston earned the necessary money writing histories and newspaper columns. His writing gave him not only an income, but a voice about the coming Nazi aggression that most of England was blind to. We've seen promising political careers derailed due to self-indulgence and Churchill's career seemed just that in the 1930s. He was a young member of the cabinet in World War I, but after a principled cabinet resignation in the early 30s, he became an outsider in his own party. This didn't stop Churchill from antagonizing everyone who wouldn't listen to him. Eventually, his rise to Prime Minister in 1940 was one of history's biggest I told you sos. But it wasn't his ability as War Prime Minister that made Churchill great, according to Manchester, but his ability to see early Nazi aggression and danger when the whole world slept. Whether you agree or disagree, Manchester has created a wonderful detailed comprehensive biography of the time period. Manchester's easy way with words, apt scholarship and detailed descriptions really bring the time period to life...
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Summary: You too can stick to your guns.
Review: "Never, never, never, never give up." is a famous Churchill quote. A few times I had to tell myself that while reading this book. Volume I in this two volume series reads at a blistering pace but then it covers decades instead of a few years. This book reads much slower, and could problably convey as much with a strong editing job, but never giving up was worth it. If you're a Churchill-o-file then this is a must read. If you've ever swam against the tide, as Churchill often did---swimming against the tide of public opinion and the pronunciations of ostrich-like politicos (thus the subtitle "Alone")---then you can appreciate the man's resoluteness. Mr. Manchester's research is in-depth and enlightening. Churchill is an endearing and admirable figure, warts and all.
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Summary: Towering
Review: Winston Churchill became Prime Minister only when World War II seemed hopelessly to threaten Britain. On retiring to bed late the first night of his tenure, rather than feeling overawed by the desperate struggle ahead, Churchill was "conscious of a profound sense of relief." One can imagine few men who would have felt such enormous self-confidence in a like situation. Manchester's biography brilliantly tells why Churchill was justified in so feeling. "Alone 1932-40" covers the years when Churchill, apparently a political has-been, unceasingly warned the country of the danger Hitler posed. His political superiors, full of class hubris, dismissed the warnings and recoiled from addressing the steps necessary to thwart Hitler. The British people were made of steadier stuff than their leaders, but, spiritually exhausted by World War I, cherished the hope that a second great war could be avoided. Manchester tells the story in thrilling fashion, making it especially compelling by writing not just about Churchill's heroism, but also covering at length and in unsparing terms, the appeasers, Chamberlain, Halifax, Henderson, et al. The story is as engrossing as a novel, and written elegantly enough to carry it along most pleasurably. Manchester's only misstep is his frequent use of the German original along with the English in many phrases quoted from the German principals. This might make sense where the meaning was ambiguous or there was an untranslatable nuance, but this is rarely the case. It seemed as if he was bringing in the German just because he enjoyed it. It's a minor quirk and should not deter anyone from reading a great book. I hope Manchester has not abandoned plans to complete the biography, which is comprehensive, but not intimidatingly long like the Gilbert series.
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