Warlord: A Life of Winston Churchill at War, 1874-1945 - Hardcover

D'Este, Carlo

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060575735 ISBN 13: 9780060575731

Publisher: Harper, 2008

Synopsis

Carlo D'Este's brilliant new biography examines Winston Churchill through the prism of his military service as both a soldier and a warlord: a descendant of Marlborough who, despite never having risen above the rank of lieutenant colonel, came eventually at age sixty-five to direct Britain's military campaigns as prime minister and defeated Hitler, Mussolini, and Hirohito for the democracies. Warlord is the definitive chronicle of Churchill's crucial role as one of the world's most renowned military leaders, from his early adventures on the North-West Frontier of colonial India and the Boer War through his extraordinary service in both World Wars.

Even though Churchill became one of the towering political leaders of the twentieth century, his childhood ambition was to be a soldier. Using extensive, untapped archival materials, D'Este reveals important and untold observations from Churchill's personal physician, as well as other colleagues and family members, in order to illuminate his character as never before. Warlord explores Churchill's strategies behind the major military campaigns of World War I and World War II—both his dazzling successes and disastrous failures—while also revealing his tumultuous relationships with his generals and other commanders, including Dwight D. Eisenhower.

As riveting as the man it portrays, Warlord is a masterful, unsparing portrait of one of history's most fascinating and influential leaders during what was arguably the most crucial event in human history.

About this title

From the Publisher

"This is the best single volume work on Winston Churchill the soldier ever written. Warlord exudes scholarship, fine writing, and wisdom in equal measure. It was the book Carlo D'Este was born to write."
-- Andrew Roberts

"Carlo D'Este, among our very best military historians, has found in Winston Churchill a subject worthy of his talent. Warlord takes the familiar subject of Churchill's amazing life and makes it glitter anew."
-- Rick Atkinson

"Carlo d'Este, one of the finest historians of the Second World War, brings to his new book all his skills as a military analyst. Churchill was one of the great warriors of all time, and D'Este shows how his early experience of conflict `at the sharp end' helped to shape his outlook as Britain's war leader. The author's judgments are acute and unsparing as ever, though his admiration for his subject never flags. Even those who think Churchill's life familiar will find this a wonderfully stimulating study."
-- Max Hastings

"Carlo D'Este focuses a brilliant spotlight on Winston Churchill the warrior and warlord, on the soldier that was always in his heart and mind no matter what suit or title he wore. This is no hagiography but a warts-and-all account of the military side of a complex man whose impact on his nation and the world shaped and changed both throughout the 20th Century. D'Este labored long and hard on WARLORD and has given us a unique view of Churchill and a magnificent historical gift."
-- Joseph L. Galloway

"Elegantly written, this tour de force belongs in every library addressing the 20th century. . . . D'Este is a master analyst of 20th-century military leadership, and this book may be his finest yet. Showing a remarkable knowledge of archival and printed sources, he tells the complex story of a statesman and warrior. . . . D'Este camoflages neither personal weaknesses nor questionable policies. But his expertise as a military historian provides contexts too often lacking in evaluating Churchill's roles in the 1915 Gallipoli campaign, 1940s Battle of Britain and the D-Day invasion in 1944."
-- Publishers Weekly (starred review)

From the Back Cover

Warlord is the definitive chronicle of Churchill's crucial role as one of the world's most renowned military leaders, from his early adventures on the North-West Frontier of colonial India and the Boer War through his extraordinary service in both world wars. Using extensive, untapped archival materials, Carlo D'Este illuminates Churchill's character as never before, exploring his strategies behind the major military campaigns of World War I and World War II—both his dazzling successes and disastrous failures—while also revealing his tumultuous relationships with his generals and other commanders, including Dwight D. Eisenhower.

As riveting as the man it portrays, Warlord is a masterful, unsparing portrait of one of history's most fascinating and influential leaders during what was arguably the most crucial event in human history.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0060575735
• ISBN 13: 9780060575731
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 864