Author Affiliation
Roy Jenkins is currently President of the Royal Society of Literature.Main Description
A brilliant new life of Britain's greatest modern prime minister Winston Churchill is an icon of modern history, but even though he was at the forefront of the political scene for almost sixty years, he might be remembered only as a minor player in the drama of British government had it not been for World War II. In this magesterial book, Roy Jenkin's unparalleled command of the political history of Britain and his own high-level experience combine in a narrative account of Churchill's astounding career that is unmatched in its shrewd insights, its unforgettable anecdotes, the clarity of its overarching themes, and the author's nuanced appreciation of his extraordinary subject. From a very young age, Churchill believed he was destined to play a great role in the life of his nation, and he determined to prepare himself. Jenkins shows in fascinating detail how Churchill educated himself for greatness, how he worked out his livelihood (writing) as well as his professional life (politics), how he situated himself at every major site or moment in British imperial and governmental life. His parliamentary career was like no other - with its changes of allegiance (from the Conservative to the Liberal and back to the Conservative Party), its troughs and humiliations, its triumphs and peaks - and for decades almost no one besides his wife discerned the greatness to come. Jenkins effortlessly evokes the spirit of Westminster through all these decades, especially the crisis years of the late 1930s and the terrifying 1940s, when at last it was clear how vital Churchill was to the very survival of England. He evaluates Churchill's other accomplishments, his writings, with equal authority. Exceptional in its breadth of knowledge and distinguished in its stylish wit and penetrating intelligence, this is one of the finest political biographies of our time.Review Quote
"One might wonder whether anything fresh remains to be said about Winston Churchill; but Roy Jenkins uniquely combines the skills of a master biographer with the insights of a practical politician and draws a fresh portrait of the great Englishman with authority, elegance and wit. This is far and away Churchill's best one-volume biography."—Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. "Roy Jenkins is a premier historian in our time. Thus, his wonderful work on Gladstone and, especially for Americans, his greatly engaging account of the life of Harry Truman and his wholly unexpected achievements. And much else and now Churchill. No public figure has been so amply and (by himself) so devoutly covered as Churchill. And none more in need of the amplification, revision and correction here offered. That this should be done by a writer and international public citizen who is also a talented political leader and a university chancellor is truly a gift of our time."—John Kenneth Galbraith "[A] beautifully written book . . . [If it] has no fresh evidence or interpretation, it has something more valuable in a biography--an instinctive feel for the subject . . . Politics and history were at the centre of [Churchill's] concerns for the best part of a century; the same is almost true of Lord Jenkins . . . Jenkins comes closer than any of the previous . . . biographers to capturing the essence of Churchill . . . Political experience at the highest levels qualifies Jenkins to write a magisterial biography peppered with useful insights, but this is not the only quality that makes it worth reading. Age provides a perspective. Jenkins is particularly good at spotting the element of urgency in Churchill's early career . . . [I]n 1940 events transmuted Churchill's defects into gold . . . In 1940, he was the essential man . . . Lord Jenkins ... is a great believer in rankings, so it would be appropriate to finish by awarding this biography an alpha-straight or minus . . . Macaulay himself could not have done a better job."—John Charmley, The Guardian (UK) "Like his subject, Lord Jenkins of Hillhead is an outstanding biographer, autobiographer and journalist . . . Liveliness and wit are common to both men, but Jenkins has a subtle irony, often at his own expense, which is not much in Churchill's style. To have written this book at all in a little over two years must f0be judged an astonishing tour de force. Though Jenkins completed his eighth decade before completing it, it does not read as the work of an old man; it has the narrative power, sweep and sparkle of the author in his prime. Inside knowledge of politics is everywhere in evidence and the book is full of intriguing allusions to history before and after the Churchillian period . . . The tone is . . . warmly admiring and sympathetic but definitely not hagiographic."—John Grigg, The Times (London) "What new light can Jenkins's biography of Churchill shed on a subject that might already seem overresearched, overwritten and overpublished? The answer does not lie in the evidence as such . . . What is superior about this biography is the insight it brings to the sources . . . [Jenkins'] probing ruminations . . . are erudite, subtle and revealing. He has a gift for posing fruitfully unexpected questions, often displaying a degree of empathy with his subject bred by common experience . . . The imperatives of party politics and political manoeuvre are always remembered and deftly brought out . . . The distinctive second string to Jenkins' bow is . . . his ability to span the worlds of politics and literature like no other significant British politician since Churchill himself."—Peter Clarke, The Sunday Times (London) "[A] first-class, well-sustained work of history and a masterpiece of biography . . . almost every single one of these 912 pages boasts a sagacious judgement or a fine epithet . . . as much a work
Exceptional in its breadth of knowledge and distinguished in its stylish wit and penetrating intelligence, this biography is a brilliant new life of Britain's greatest modern prime minister. of photos & maps.Author Affiliation
Roy Jenkins is the author of eighteen books, including Gladstone (1997), which won the Whitbread Prize for Biography. Active in British politics for half a century, he entered the House of Commons as a Labour member in 1948 and subsequently served as Minister of Aviation, Home Secretary, and Chancellor of the Exchequer. In 1977-81 he was President of the European Commission. In 1987 he became Chancellor of Oxford University and took his seat in the House of Lords as Lord Jenkins of Hillhead. He is currently President of the Royal Society of Literature. He lives with his wife in London and OxfordshireReview Quote
"One might wonder whether anything fresh remains to be said about Winston Churchill; but Roy Jenkins uniquely combines the skills of a master biographer with the insights of a practical politician and draws a fresh portrait of the great Englishman with authority, elegance and wit. This is far and away Churchill's best one-volume biography."-Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. "Roy Jenkins is a premier historian in our time. Thus, his wonderful work on Gladstone and, especially for Americans, his greatly engaging account of the life of Harry Truman and his wholly unexpected achievements. And much else and now Churchill. No public figure has been so amply and (by himself) so devoutly covered as Churchill. And none more in need of the amplification, revision and correction here offered. That this should be done by a writer and international public citizen who is also a talented political leader and a university chancellor is truly a gift of our time."-John Kenneth Galbraith "[A] beautifully written book . . . [If it] has no fresh evidence or interpretation, it has something more valuable in a biography--an instinctive feel for the subject . . . Politics and history were at the centre of [Churchill's] concerns for the best part of a century; the same is almost true of Lord Jenkins . . . Jenkins comes closer than any of the previous . . . biographers to capturing the essence of Churchill . . . Political experience at the highest levels qualifies Jenkins to write a magisterial biography peppered with useful insights, but this is not the only quality that makes it worth reading. Age provides a perspective. Jenkins is particularly good at spotting the element of urgency in Churchill's early career . . . [I]n 1940 events transmuted Churchill's defects into gold . . . In 1940, he was the essential man . . . Lord Jenkins ... is a great believer in rankings, so it would be appropriate to finish by awarding this biography an alpha-straight or minus . . . Macaulay himself could not have done a better job."-John Charmley, The Guardian (UK) "Like his subject, Lord Jenkins of Hillhead is an outstanding biographer, autobiographer and journalist . . . Liveliness and wit are common to both men, but Jenkins has a subtle irony, often at his own expense, which is not much in Churchill's style. To have written this book at all in a little over two years must f0be judged an astonishing tour de force. Though Jenkins completed his eighth decade before completing it, it does not read as the work of an old man; it has the narrative power, sweep and sparkle of the author in his prime. Inside knowledge of politics is everywhere in evidence and the book is full of intriguing allusions to history before and after the Churchillian period . . . The tone is . . . warmly admiring and sympathetic but definitely not hagiographic."-John Grigg, The Times (London) "What new light can Jenkins's biography of Churchill shed on a subject that might already seem overresearched, overwritten and overpublished? The answer does not lie in the evidence as such . . . What is superior about this biography is the insight it brings to the sources . . . [Jenkins'] probing ruminations . . . are erudite, subtle and revealing. He has a gift for posing fruitfully unexpected questions, often displaying a degree of empathy with his subject bred by common experience . . . The imperatives of party politics and political manoeuvre are always remembered and deftly brought out . . . The distinctive second string to Jenkins' bow is . . . his ability to span the worlds of politics and literature like no other significant British politician since Churchill himself."-Peter Clarke, The Sunday Times (London) "[A] first-class, well-sustained work of history and a masterpiece of biography . . . almost every single one of these 912 pages boasts a sagacious judgement or a fine epithet . . . as much a work