In this second of six, this epic tale is wonderfully told by Winston Churchill. It is the stuff of bravery, valor and everything that stands in its way. More than anything, Winston Churchill's writing style is exemplified, to me anyway, by his daring to speak of great deeds, but also of cowardice.

Winston speaks of his countrymen and our own President with the highest regards in being able to deal with the terror that was forced upon the world. He also goes so far as to tell the reader which Generals of the French Army had given up long before they ever should have. He speaks of the leaders of Italy waiting hungrily until only at the precise moment when it was at their utmost advantage to strike.

He points out in his communicaitons with friend and foe the great things people said, as well as the mistakes people made, including his own from time to time. It is fascinating to see the first hand accounts of this great man in a desparate position doing his best to keep himself and his country held together.

He delves into Britain, France, South America, Germany, Italy, Greece, the Americas and all other nations which at the time which may have had a hand in the war (some did, some didn't).

I found this book to be a far more enjoyable read than the first as it covers all aspects of the war rather than focusing primarily on the Naval situation. As you will see in the first 100 pages at the battle near Dunkirk, this book covers all aspects from ammunitions to fighting forces.

One thing I found interesting was that most nations did not choose to join WWII. They were forced into it by the Germans. Russia, France, Britain, Belgium, and yes, even the U.S. chose to fight only when the other alternative was devestation and slavery into the German hands. This is something our history books neglect to mention but which Winston is very gracios to point out.

In six remarkable volumes, the incomparable Winston Churchill sets forth the Second World War in enormous detail and largely from his own personal perspective as Great Britain's Prime Minister. In this, the second volume, Churchill sets forth the events of the year 1940, the momentous period when France fell to the Nazi tyrants and Britain stood alone against Hitler's onslaught. The book is divided into two parts. In the first part, Churchill explains just how and why France was defeated and how she came to capitulate to the Nazis in defiance of her pledge to Britain to keep fighting. I have never seen such a detailed description of the political arguments and considerations that went into this decision. The book is invaluable for this reason alone. Also detailed are the military setbacks that led to the French surrender and necessitated the British evacuation at Dunkirk. Churchill reprints many of his communications with other world leaders, such as President Roosevelt, his own ministers and military leaders and his communications with Parliament and the British public.

After the French removal from the war, Great Britain stood alone in defiance of Hitler. Churchill makes it clear, however, that as British home defense became stronger and stronger, he remained confident that his country could repel any invasion. This did not save the nation from the horrors of the German blitz and this is described in detail, including Churchill's own experience in a bomb shelter. The specifics of the Battle of Britain, the first major air battle in history and the growing war at sea are also explored as is the growing relationship between the United States and Britain.

The year 1940 is the year Britain survived on her own and was the only year in which invasion was a genuine possibility. Yet from the American stand point it is one of the most neglected periods of the war. Churchill's writing is elegant and accessible at the same time. This is true of all his works. The book and Churchill's memos and other internal communications reveals that even in this difficult and trying year, he always had a strategic vision of victory. Much of what Churchill predicted came to pass after many hard and deadly years. But in the year 1940, ultimate victory seemed impossible. Indeed subjugation seemed a realistic possibility. Without the leadership of Churchill, it is doubtful Britain would have stood defiant. After 1941, Britain's role in the war was diminished and then eclipsed by that of the United States and the Soviet Union. Churchill recognized and indeed welcomed this inevitable development and covers it in the subsequent volumes. But without question, 1940 was Britain's "finest hour." Read all six books in this series.

I bought Churchill's 6-volume history of the Second World War many years ago, but did not find the strength to begin reading it until some time later. The effect was immediate. Although it took me over a year to read all of it, that was only because I have long had the habit of reading a number of books concurrently. I simply couldn't put Churchill down. To say that the story of World War II is a gripping one, is to put it mildly. How much more gripping do you think it might be in the hands of that one unique individual who was both one of the central players and the recorder of the events themselves. At times, I found myself actually wanting certain historical events to go in favour of the Allies although, naturally, I already knew the outcome! Such is the effect of Churchill's writing.

In the second volume "Their Finest Hour," Britain was holding the fort against Hitler alone. After Dunkirk, spirits were low all over the place and the value of Dr Goebells's secret weapon was able to come into play with great effect. One can imagine the feeling of the citizenry of Britain at that time, trapped as they felt themselves to be in that little island, with an unbeaten army just across the channel snarling at them. The whys and wherefores of the actions of both Hitler and the German General Staff at that time, can be discussed until you are blue in the face. The fact is that, although most people on both sides of the Atlantic thought they were about to hop across and finish the job, the Germans hesitated, mainly for lack of a plan, and lost the chance. I don't know for sure if Churchill also thought the British might have been defeated in July, August or September of 1940, but from the end of that odd period of stalemate, he never looked back.

This is fine writing by a, dare I say, highly experienced writer who was right in the thick of things almost from the word go. What a stroke of luck it was that Churchill, like Caesar but unlike Napoleon, both lived it and wrote it.

These six volumes should be, in my opinion, MANDATORY reading for anyone interested in (a) WW II (b) HISTORY (c)increasing their knowledge of the English language. Having read the entire set over 50-60 times, I am still fascinated by new material I discover with each re-reading. It comes as no surprise that Sir Winston was awarded the NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE for this masterpiece.

Because of his immense output, Winston Churchill may be described as an old-fashioned writer. Fortunately for us he does not read as such. There is very little archaic about the expressions he uses or the grammar he employs, in volume after volume after volume. It remains immensely readable, and this is the strength of a good writer, it seems to me. As a boy, Churchill was held up to me as an example of a person with a very full command of English. I was told, although I have never been able to verify it, that Churchill employed one of the largest vocabularies of any individual writing in English. It is ironic to think that, although the use of English is becoming ever more widespread, it is not generally being put to anything like the kind of use a man like Churchill made of it.

"The Grand Alliance" takes us to the point in the Second World War when the Americans finally declared their intentions. In a sense, it announced the end to hesitation, the end to British doubts about whether they could possibly win out against Hitler alone. Of course, America had participated in the war to a very large extent already, having agreed to set up the famous "Lend-Lease" program, whereby first Britain, and later Russia, were given material support in a way which satisfied the neutral and isolationist U.S. congress. It was also something of a victory for Churchill at the same time, since he had worked doggedly at bringing the Americans around, and although Pearl harbour did tip the balance, it was partly due to Churchill having prepared the ground.

Churchill himself states that, from the moment of the U.S. entry into the conflict, no matter how long it might take, he was certain of victory. From his point of view at the top, he could see that the sheer weight of numbers (tonnage, armament production etc.,), added to the geographical reality of Germany, meant they could never hope to win against the combined industrial might of Britain and the U.S. It was this absolute faith which sustained him during the reverses of 1941 and 1942.

There is very little about Sir Churchill that can be considered routine, average, or some standard he can be compared to. Everything he did was generally on a scale that helped to create the Legend he has become, and that he will remain. Even when he erred, it generally was not minor, however rare, but on balance we do not, nor will we have his kind again. He loved his Country, and he loved the US, for he was 50% American, so that even in Washington D.C. today, a statue of him striding forward has one foot on British, and one on American soil.

His life was long, stretching past the 90-year mark, allowing him ample time to write and give speeches, which are routinely quoted to this day. He was a master at both disciplines, with his writing awarded the Nobel Prize For Literature in 1953.

"Great Contemporaries" is a book that is more about the men and women he knew than about the Author. He is evident throughout the read, as the impressions of these people of History are his. The 21 profiles he shares with the reader are incredible in their range, and that they were his "contemporaries" is one testament to the History he created and was a part of.

Contemporary people of fame are often identifiable by a first or last name alone. However as we live in an age where you can chat in real time across the planet, fame does not require the same level of notoriety. The fame is of a different character and caliber.

The Kaiser, Shaw, Chamberlein, Hindenburg, Foch, Trotsky, these are only a fraction of the essays this man of history will share. Too, there is Lawrence of Arabia who requires a bit more than a last name, but it is not do to his renown, rather the generic nature of the end of his sobriquet.

These reminiscences are different than those of today's leaders, there was very little distance between these people, they often met alone, and they did not bring an array of lackeys, translators, and gadflies.

A tremendous sweep of one man's impressions of people whose actions resonate to this day, and in all likelihood will not cease.

Winston Churchill was remarkable, as much as for any other reason, for the sheer volume of words he produced. In a long life, during which he was often preoccupied by both family matters (he had four children) and matters of state, he nevertheless found the time to compose an inordinate number of books. I say compose, because he perfected a system during the first war, which revealed its efficacy more than ever in the second, of working through secretaries. There are many odd anecdotes told about Churchill, not the least of which is that his secretaries, sometimes working in rotation throughout much of the night, were obliged to attend to him and take down what he said, even in the bath. This way of getting the material down in print proved to be very effective, as the tens of thousands of published pages of his work amply demonstrates.

His long history of the Second World War continues with "The Hinge of Fate." Although he was personally assured that the American entry into the war meant the ultimate defeat of Germany, he still had to see to the day to day running of the war machine, and counter the perverse effects of both German victories and British pessimism. Now began, as well, the long battle with Stalin about opening up a second front in France, to take some of the heat off the Russian armies in the East. In fact, his relationship with the Russian leader is one of the most interesting sources of anecdotal references throughout this series.

This is history being well told by a man who was, while perhaps not a trained historian as such, so steeped in the history of his family and his country, that he an utterly unique point of view. The fact that he was also a central figure in the war itself, means that we have, if you like, a one in a million chance victory on our hands, as though we had just won a lottery of sorts, by being able to read him.

at the same time. Churchill was already regarded as one of the greatest men of his time. This was due in no small part to his great sucess as a writer. Yet he was out of step, the times being what they were: a nation being led by craven, small brained men concerned only with the bottom line. I found myself talking back to the tape (in essence, talking to myself) at the fools running H.M.G. & the Foreign Office in the 1930's. It is as if Churchill is the only person of stature who knew Hitler & what his intentions were.But he is on the outside looking in. This was the "peace at ANY price decade" & not one for which England can be proud. Every country in Europe was sold out as the Greater Reich swallowed The Rhineland, Austria, The Sudetenland & Czechslovakia & threatened the rest including France. His fall from grace was in part in own fault. His obstinacy on India's Status & his support of Edward VIII, the future Duke of Windsor past the point of reason did not help him at all. His honor, honesty & vast output of writing in books & articles kept him in the public eye, until as we know, he was called to his finest hour.

William Manchester's first Churchill volume is one of those books that makes you just love to read.

This clearly isn't a book for all those who are fascinated by the mediocre and skeptical of the possibilities for true greatness. This is an unreconstructed and unapologetic look at a leader whose instincts often cut against the grain of the 20th century, but who would emerge as one of the great heroes of it, just when extraordinary leadership was needed the most.

Manchester is the rare gifted writer who has mastered the biographical craft as well as the sweeping narrative needed to succinctly encapsulate the mores and habits of an entire nation at a particular moment in time. He does this brilliantly in his introduction, about one hundred pages long, which sets the stage with a lavish description of Victorian England. This is one of the best parts of the book.

Early on, it is clear that the ambitious young Winston is headed for big things. This wasn't only because he came from one of Britain's most prominent families -- his father rose to become the second most powerful man in the government, and his mother was romantically linked to the Prince of Wales. Despite this, Manchester convinces us, successfully, that Churchill was the best of his generation, that he would have risen even from less auspicious circumstances (admittedly, this interpretation has its limits, since entire social classes were excluded from Parliament at the time).

Churchill made his career as a political maverick, changing parties not once, but twice, consistently taking positions that brought him close to political death. Yet Churchill survived -- and what's more, he turned out to be one of the most enduring political presences any democracy has ever seen. What is striking about Churchill's career is that it didn't simply culminate in 1940 after a plodding journey up the political ladder. No -- Churchill had first been elected to Parliament forty years earlier, and he rose quickly within a few years of his election. But then his career plateaud for about a quarter of a century. Here you had a man who was considered a future Prime Minister at age 30, who was in a position to be considered the heir apparent in governments of two different parties at various points from World War I until the late 1920s, and yet didn't take the next step. What happened?

The Great War and its aftermath, more than anything, foreordained Churchill's postponed "rendezvous with destiny." It was here where Churchill was the most out of step with prevailing political attitudes. Churchill held close to his heart a heroic vision of Britain, and believed deeply in the nobility of a war fought for a just cause. He also believed in the Empire, and did not think that Britain should relinquish what was already hers, even in a time of relative decline vis a vis the United States. Where most saw senseless slaughter in the trenches of France, he saw selfless heroism, a nation at its best.

The nation, or at least the political classes, did not agree with this interpretation. In a time that Walter Lippman proclaimed was "tired of greatness" and where the great fear was that Britain had overextended herself, Churchill defended greatness and Empire. In his view, strength in the service of democracy, and not blind disarmament, would prevent future wars. This view, ascendant in World War II, and in many ways, ascendant again in America today, was seen as discredited at the time, and Churchill in the 1920's repeatedly butted heads with a Conservative leadership over disarmament and withdrawal from India. The trend was so strong in the other direction that Churchill was effectively cast out of his party by the end of the 20's, and looked destined to repeat the fate of his iconoclastic father, who was cast permanently out into the political wilderness for his own apostasies.

But with this son, there would always be a second act.

"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 . . .

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.

Most people today know Winston Churchill at the great British Prime Minister of WWII. But Churchill was 65 when he became Prime Minister and had a public career spanning more than forty years. In this excellent book which is part biography, part history, William Manchester focuses on the period of 1932-1940 when Churchill was out of power, an outcast in his own party and universally derided as a warmongering relic. Churchill referred to these years as his "wilderness years" and they are among the most fascinating of his life because the years of Churchill's political exile coincide with the rise of Hitler and the growth of Germany from defeated power to world menace. Indeed, as Manchester chronicles, Churchill's return from the wilderness was intimately connected to the rise of Hitler because Churchill's relentless public opposition to Hitlerism and British policy towards Germany throughout the thirties is what led to his continuing exile while this same stalwartness preserved him from the mark of shame that infected the rest of the British elite when the policy of appeasement collapsed in 1939.

Manchester has an unrestrained admiration for Churchill. Nevertheless, at no time in this volume does he overlook Churchill's many faults of personality. Many of these faults become clear when Manchester examines Churchill's personal life at his Chartwell estate and his relationship with his family and the servants and secretary's who worked for him. Despite these faults, however, the Churchill of this book comes across as a man touched with greatness and who is well aware of it. But this book is not merely the story of Churchill but the story of the small shabby men whose policy of appeasement in the face of absolute evil laid England low. Most of the government during the thirties fits this bill but in particular Manchester singles out the three prime ministers, Ramsey McDonald, Stanley Baldwin and Neville Chamberlain and Chamberlain's foreign minister Lord Halifax.. The author's contempt for these "Men of Munich" drips on virtually every page. He contrasts their fecklessness with Churchill's steadiness. Certainly Churchill recognized from day one that Germany had been overtaken by a deranged criminal regime and that such a regime would necessarily threaten the peace of the world. The Men of Munich just could not see it. Churchill believed, without once wavering, that a foreign policy built on strength and deterrence could prevent war but that a policy of appeasement could only guarantee it. The Men of Munich believed quite the opposite. Manchester shows the motivation of the appeasers to be more complex than commonly understood. Nevertheless, since, to their mind, no rational human being could want war, any dispute with Germany could be resolved through diplomacy and negotiation. It never occurred to the Churchill's foes that Hitler was no rational human being but rather quite mad or that they were not "negotiating" with him so much as giving in and retreating.

A review of the events of the thirties shows a steady British retreat beginning with the failure to stop the re-occupation of the Rhineland then the failure to halt the annexation of Austria, the infamous betrayal of Czechoslovakia at Munich and finally the failure to prevent the final conquest of Czechoslovakia. Indeed, even after the invasion of Poland and declaration of War, Britain and France held back from aiding the Poles for fear Hitler would "turn west". Not until Churchill returned to power, nearly a year after the start of the war and days before the capitulation of France did the policy of appeasement truly end.

Even without the benefit of hindsight, the policy of the British government during this period defies belief. Churchill stands as starkly in contrast to these appeasers as he does to the criminal Hitler. Churchill's wilderness years contain important lessons for today's policy-makers. Appeasement of evil is not only wrong but foolish. It never preserves peace but only guarantee's war. Manchester is a great writer. His prose is lively and his storytelling ability is excellent. All lovers of history will adore this book. I highly recommend it. What a pity that there will never be a third volume chronicling the war and post war years of Churchill's 90 year life.

This, the second volume of Manchester's Churchill biography, continues the extraordinary story of the British prime minister up to 1940. And as with the first volume, it is incredible reading, perhaps the best biography written about anyone. Manchester's gift as a writer is absolutely astounding. One feels there is nothing he does not know about his subject or the subject's time. Particularly interesting are the quotes he includes, which when I first read them I had to resist framing for my library wall. And almost as interesting as Churchill are the myriad individuals who surrounded him, exhumed here by Manchester for a final and proper setting of the record. Ultimately, we come to Churchill's greatest contemporaries, Chamberlain, Roosevelt, Stalin, and Hitler, and are drawn with such expertise into the relationships that we are left wondering how it will all turn out. But of course we do know, and it is with growing dismay and sadness that we let Manchester take us to the end of the book, with the detailed recounting of the terrible stumbling of the West's leaders toward WWII and the end of an era. Of course, this is the beginning of Churchll's greatest challenge, to be continued in the as yet unpublished third volume, but we still feel regret for having lost to time such an able and important man. With the last page, our respect for him has us near tears with the knowledge that the world, more than ever, needs more Churchills and will not have them.

William Manchester's first Churchill volume covers the first fifty eight years of Winston's life. His second, "Alone," covers just eight. Assuming that there will be a third, it will cover the final quarter century, including most of World War II and Churchill's two spells as Prime Minister. To the elementary observer, these divisions seem somewhat out of sorts.

It's only by reading that middle volume that we understand just how critical those eight years were. Above all, "Alone" is a morality play -- the best one I know -- about what happens when democracies fail to confront aggression. At no other time in the 20th Century were so many people so wrong about a matter as grave as the Nazi buildup in the 1930s. Only Winston Churchill and a few of his cohorts disagreed at the time.

Early in the book, Manchester briefly lays out a powerful case for Britain's aversion to confronting Germany. Britain sensed the unfairness of the Versailles "diktat," and reacted strongly against it. To a great degree, London was fed up with France's insolence after the war, both in its lust for revenge against Germany, and in the flaccid disillusionment of Paris intellectuals. At the same time, Great Britain was a nation cornered by two bloodthirsty wolves -- Nazism and Bolshevism. In order to defeat the other, one would have to be appeased. Being a country dominated by aristocrats, Britain chose to enlist Hitler as a bulwark against Communism. In doing so, they ignored the basic fact of geopolitical proximity: only Germany, abutting France and a few hundred miles away from Britain's shores, had the capacity to strike at the West. Britain's aristocrats bet wrong, and Churchill, ever the "traitor to his class" immediately recognized it.

Churchill's story also holds valuable lessons for us today. By nature, Churchill was naturally aggressive, and as such, Manchester writes that he saw exactly what Hitler was up to. Pacifists often distrust such assertiveness, even in a democracy. In fact, assertiveness in defense of democratic values is almost always the right foreign policy. One can have assertiveness for good, or assertiveness for evil, and one must choose it for good. In this way, Churchill's "black and white" Manichean worldview has truly stood the test of time.

The key point to be learnt from this volume of Churchill's memoirs is that history proved him correct. Through all the years leading up to World War II, Churchill alone understood the Nazi menace.

Every step along the road of appeasement was another potentially destructive step for democracy. It fed the Nazi appetite for power and revenge. Appeasement was also incredibly naïve although this is said with the benefit of hindsight. Churchill, by way of contrast, was saying these things at the time. He saw the dangers in turning a blind eye to the surrender of the Rhineland, Austria and finally Czechoslovakia. The line drawn at Poland was too late. It meant that the war had to be fought from a weaker position than could have otherwise been the case if the democracies of western Europe had taken an earlier stand.

Churchill's memoirs are long on detail and probably meant for a keen reader of modern history. Do not let this fact alienate potential readers. Churchill actually made history and his views remain relevant.

I just finished reading The Gathering Storm. I have read other books about World War II including, A Man Called Intrepid. This has been, by far, the best. Winston Churchill shows himself to be not only a great statesman, but also an increadibly articulate writer.
First, the story captured me by his tremendous grasp and use of the English language. Churchill's writing is very understandable even though he uses very proper or "High" English. His words draw you in and paint pictures in your mind. It was easy to feel as if you were in the story.
Secondly, Churchill tells an incredible story of suffering, perserverance, sacrifice and honor. Churchill describes how people served with honor and respect without regard to their own needs. History is so easily forgotten but fills such an enormous void in society. Churchill turned his very life over to the country and to the world in order that good would win out over the evil of Nazi Germany and Hitler.
Churchill does not just tell of the things that were done right. In fact, the bulk of the book tells primarily of the failure of the Allies to prevent war. Churchill presents a valuable lesson that dictators and bullies can not be tamed by appeasement. The dictator's appetite grows with every inch given over. Churchill also points out his own failures and mistakes, never once trying to shift the blame or make an excuse.
The Gathering Storm should be a lesson to all of the consequences of thinking that "if it doesn't affect me I don't care". It is a valuable history lesson for all. It is also an excellent book on being a leader. Churchill shows that being a leader is not about being famous and winning admiration. It is about self-sacrifice and thinking of the greater good.
This should be required reading for all high school students as well as every politician. We all need to remember what a tremendous price was paid for us. Winston Churchill was one of the worlds greatest leaders and heroes.

Winston Churchill, in addition to his well-deserved reputation as a great war-time leader and statesman, also has a well-deserved reputation as a prolific author and historian. His six volume history of the Second World War, recently re-issued and now readily available, part history, part memoir, is a must read original source for any student of the War.

Obviously, what makes Churchill's history of the War unique is his involvement in so much of the narrative. He is alone among the great leaders in recording his experiences of this period. But this work is not merely a memoir of his role in the War but rather a complete work of historical scholarship in and of itself. In this book, volume one, Churchill covers the period from the end of the Great War in 1919 until the invasion of France and the fall of the Chamberlain government in 1940. The book is divided into two parts, the first "From War to War" briefly covers developments in Britain and Germany during the twenties that relate to the rise of Hitler and the growing menace of Germany in the thirties. The bulk of this section is devoted to the folly of Britain and France in allowing a toothless Germany to reach military parity with and then greatly surpass the abilities of the two Democracies. Churchill covers all the major events and gives his views on them, including his exclusion from the government and his frustrating inability to affect the course of events. His criticism is surprisingly muted, however. In his characteristic way, Churchill allows his adversaries' own words of folly to speak for themselves. His criticism after the fact his actually a good deal tamer than his speeches to Parliament during this period. Some of this may have to do with the fact of his reconciliation with Chamberlain after the beginning of the War.

The second part of the book, "the Twilight War" covers the period from September 1939 until the invasion of the West in the Spring of 1940. With the mind of a military thinker, Churchill details the naval challenges to Britain from he very start of the war, including the need to protect merchant shipping and the need to secure England's northern Baltic ports. In this section as well, Churchill chronicles the political and diplomatic difficulties of the early part of the war. Included of course, in his typically understated fashion, is the story of his return to power, first as First Lord of the Admiralty then as Prime Minister after the fall of the Chamberlain government. It is on this note that the book concludes, saving the story of the Fall of France and Britain's lonely stand for the second volume.

Churchill's way with the pen is incomparable. His use of the written English language is remarkable. As a history, this book is comprehensive and excellent. He makes much use of original sources, particularly regarding German actions. Its only weakness as a history is the lack of Churchill's detachment from the events of which he writes. But this weakness of the book as a history is its strength as a biography. Churchill's insights into the times in which he lived and the famous people with whom he dealt are invaluable. In this book, his description of Molotov as a perfect robot is priceless. Churchill states that the theme to this volume is "How the English-Speaking people's...allowed the wicked to re-arm." It is a lesson also covered in Manchester's "The Last Lion Volume Two-Alone." It is a lesson still invaluable today.

As with the other volumes in his monumental history, Churchill's language is sparkling and, from a literary standpoint, practically genius. The man really knows how to turn a phrase, to use the English language to its best advantage. As literature, this book is wonderful, and I recommend it highly. As history, it may be less important. Everyone acknowledges the work's idiosyncracies; it's Churchill's view, not a balanced attempt to cover the whole war. To be fair to WSC, he knew what it was, and made no pretense about it. But, after the USA came on to the European scene in mid-1943, Britain's position of authority declined, so there's less for Churchill to describe or represent. He's reduced to saying innumberable times "We were forced to accept our Ally's view." The reader, especially one who has read the first four books, can tell that he's no longer so engaged by the magnitude of events. He covers a year here in only 2/3 the space it took him in any previous volume. Maybe he's just exhausted, but whatever the reason, *Closing the Ring* lacks the grandiose-ness of the previous entries.

It is fortunate for us as readers that Winston Churchill not only had the qualities of a writer, but that he also found the time to put them to such good effect. Many a retired politician has written his personal memoirs-few of them have ever done so quite as completely. In the war, Churchill used secretaries to help him cover the multitude of daily tasks he needed to get through and afterwards, when living at Chartwell, his home in Kent, he kept up the practise of using an amanuensis instead of writing himself. This allowed him to get far more work done, since he could literally do it with his eyes closed. Nevertheless, we may feel sure that the text is his own. Proud man that he surely was, there is little chance that he indulged anyone in much editing. When we see his virtually unedited copy sent from the field from India, the Sudan and South Africa at the end of the last century, we can feel sure that by the 1950s, he was a competent composer of text indeed.

"Closing the Ring" is the story of the climax of the Second World War. Although he refused to admit it, Hitler probably knew deep down what everybody else could see very clearly after Stalingrad. The once mighty armies of the Third Reich were being forced to withdraw; some of the best divisions had by then been so savaged that little remained. Berlin was being mercilessly ground down to rubble by legions of British and American heavy bombers that ended up attacking their targets almost unopposed. It was the time when madness reigned in the Fuhrerbunker and when the Allies could see the fruit of their careful planning starting to ripen. Churchill was at once rewarded by the knowledge that he had been right in thinking America invincible, and at the same time he was sadly aware that an era was passing and the British Empire was fading away in front of his eyes.

This is a long sustained narrative, written by a man in full command of his enormous personal resources. In addition, Churchill had access to a vast quantity of documentation concerning the period, because he had written much of that too! Frankly, this is an admirable work of history, told with a writer's gift for spinning a yarn and I enjoyed every word of it.

Having read the first five volumes of Churchill's magnificent history of the war that he was so instrumental in winning, I looked forward somberly to the last volume, fully expecting the "tragedy" in the title to refer to the fate of the Jews in Germany and throughout Europe. But as I worked my way through that volume, I found almost no references to this true tragedy of humanity. The tragedy in question was Churchill's ouster at the end of the war. I finished the volume in disbelief. Checking the index to see if somehow I'd slept through this portion of his tome, I found no reference to holocaust, none to concentration camps, none to the Final Solution, and the only references to Jews are their organizing of a fighting force, their mistreatment in Hungary and an escape in Greece. I have long wondered at this terrible omission, and long to read what the New York Times had to say about this book when it was first published.

Winston Churchill found himself with a lot of time on his hands at the end of the war. Part of his personal tragedy was to suddenly discover, not long after the fall of Berlin but before the bombs fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, that he was no longer wanted by the British electorate. That is how "Triumph and Tragedy" ends, with a personal note of sourness, although with little explanation as to the why and wherefore of his own political demise. The truth lay perhaps in the real nature of the man. Recognised as the bulldog who could do a lot more than bark in a War Cabinet, he was called for at once when it was clear that Britain was in danger. Yet so well-known were his qualities as a fighter of men that, once peace was about to return, he was despatched back to political oblivion as being obviously the wrong man to continue. Such is democracy. I've no doubt he felt a little twinge, as many a soldier at the front also paradoxically felt, that his war was over.

Churchill was probably without equal during his own lifetime and, by the curious twists of fate which manage men, was one of the most extraordinary players on the world stage, throughout recorded history. The last sentence in the book nevertheless shows the true heart of a man who, whatever else may be said about him, gave so much:

"It only remains for me to express to the British people, for whom I have acted in these perilous years, my profound gratitude for the unflinching, unswerving support which they have given me during my task, and for the many expressions of kindness which they have shown towards their servant."

My comments refer not only to this penultimate volume but the entire series, and not to the currently advertised edition, but the first edition. Churchill remains one of my favourite authors, and this historic work is arguably his literary masterpiece. Speaking only for myself, I found the weight and style of English to be ideal, not too light or scholarly. His point of view of course is from the winning side, which is his right and privilege. For those willing to put in the time, without tiring of the war, it is well worth the effort. Somehow the narrative never seems to drag, in spite of the considerable length. Enthusiastically recommended.