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Martin Gilbert's highly-acclaimed Churchill: A Life is a story of adventure. It follows Winston Churchill from his earliest days to his moments of triumph. Here, the drama and excitement of his story are ever-present, as are his tremendous qualities in peace and war, not least as an orator and as a man of vision. Gilbert gives us a vivid portrait, using Churchill's most personal letters and the recollections of his contemporaries, both friends and enemies, to go behind the scenes of some of the stormiest and most fascinating political events of our time, dominated by two world wars and culminating in the era of the Iron Curtain
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CHURCHILL A Life Martin Gilbert was born in London in 1936. After two years' 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 one of the research assistants 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. He has also published, as part of the biography, Churchill: A Photographic Portrait (also available in Pirnlico). In addition to his Churchill work, Gilbert has been a pioneer in the design and publication of historical atlases, and has written a general history of the Holocaust, one-volume histories of the First and the Second World War, and a three-volume history of the twentieth century. He was knighted in 1995.
CHURCHILL A Life
Martin Gilbert
PIMLICO
Published by Pimlico 2000 2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1 Copyright© Martin Gilbert 1991 Martin Gilbert has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher's prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. First published in Great Britain by William Heinemann Ltd 1991 Pirnlico edition 2000 Pimlico Random House, 20Vauxhall Bridge Road, London SW1V 2SA Random House Australia (Pty) Limited 20 Alfred Street, Milsons Point, Sydney, New South Wales 2061, Australia Random House New Zealand Limited 18 Poland Road, Glenfield, Auckland 10, New Zealand Random House (Pty) Limited Endulini, Sa Jubilee Road, Parktown 2193, South Africa Random House Group Limited Reg. No. 954009 www.randomhouse.co.uk A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 0-7126-6725-3 Papers used by Random House are natural, recyclable products made from wood grown in sustainable forests. The manufacturing processes conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin Printed and bound in Great Britain by Mackays of Chatham pic, Chatham, Kent
For Natalie, David and Joshua
Contents
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Illustrations List of Maps Preface Acknowledgements
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xxi
Childhood Harrow Towards the Army Second Lieutenant In Action To Omdurman and beyond South Africa: Adventure, Capture, Escape Into Parliament Revolt and Responsibilities The Social Field Home Secretary At the Admiralty The Coming of War in 1914 War Isolation and Escape In the Trenches 'Deep and Ceaseless Torments' Minister of Munitions At the War Office Colonial Secretary Return to the Wilderness At the Exchequer Out of Office The Moment o