Young Titan: The Making of Winston Churchill - Softcover

Michael Shelden

Softcover

ISBN 10: 147111323X ISBN 13: 9781471113239

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Ltd, 2014

Synopsis

Most people today think of Winston Churchill as simply the wartime British bulldog - a jowly, cigar-chomping old fighter demanding blood, sweat and tears from his nation. But the well-known story of the elder statesman has overshadowed an earlier part of his life that is no less fascinating, and that has never before been fully told. It is a tale of romance, ambition, intrigue and glamour in Edwardian London, when the city was the centre of the world, and when its best and brightest were dazzled by the meteoric rise to power of a young politician with a famous name and a long aristocratic background.

About this title

About the Author

Michael Shelden is an award-winning journalist and biographer. He has published biographies of, among others, George Orwell, Mark Twain and Graham Greene, and has written extensively for a numbr of international publications,including the Daily Telegraph and the New York Times.

Review

“Perceptive and entertaining.” (Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post)

"A vivid portrait of a young man on the make, as ambitious as he was gifted. . . Enthralling." (DailyBeast.com [Newsweek digital edition])

“Much has been written about Winston Churchill, but there is still much to learn, especially about those early years when he seemed destined for greatness. Michael Shelden now thoughtfully explores those years in Young Titan....An engaging as well as perceptive take on the man who believed that while we are all worms ‘he was a glowworm’ — a belief history would splendidly vindicate.” (Richmond Times Dispatch)

“Entertaining and erudite.... Shelden is full of sharp literary insights about Churchill, as one would expect from a literary biographer of his rank.” (Wall Street Journal)

“[A] solid biography covering the first four decades of Winston Churchill’s life, marked by both ambition and heartbreak....Shelden offers an unadorned account of Churchill’s dogged pursuit to build his legacy against some long odds.” (Kirkus Reviews)

“Swiftly narrated.... Shelden, a noted biographer whose 1992 Orwell was a Pulitzer Prize finalist, explores the young titan in entertaining depth, with deep regard for Churchill's achievements and no end of colorful detail.” (USA Today)

“Michael Shelden has done the nigh-impossible: he has found original things to say about the man Isaiah Berlin called ‘the largest human being of our time’—Winston Churchill. In this entertaining and deeply researched book, Shelden paints a memorable portrait of the young Churchill’s life and loves.” (Jon Meacham, author of American Lion)

“Young Titan gives us an exciting, needed look at Winston Churchill in his years as a Liberal. Breaking with the Conservatives, he battled for better working conditions, for unemployment insurance, for improvements in education. He waged a two-front war: against the Tories on the right, the socialists on the left. It is the young Churchill at his best, a great foretelling of what was to come when Britain and the world needed him most.” (Chris Matthews, author of Jack Kennedy: Elusive Hero and anchor of MSNBC’s Hardball)

“For history buffs, Winston Churchill is the gift that keeps on giving, and in Young Titan Michael Shelden has given us the gift of Churchill’s fascinating formative years. It’s all here—the boy wonder, adventurer, romantic, orator, and eloquent man in the arena. I didn't want it to end.” (Tom Brokaw, author of The Greatest Generation)

“A biographer of note, [Shelden] actually found a fresh angle on England's man with the big cigar that should appeal to avid history fans.” (Ft. Worth Star-Telegram)

About this edition

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Ltd
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 147111323X
• ISBN 13: 9781471113239
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 400