Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Laurel Leaf (1984), Paperback
Description
Biography & Autobiography. History. Nonfiction. HTML: Winston Churchill is perhaps the most important political figure of the twentieth century. His great oratory and leadership during the Second World War were only part of his huge breadth of experience and achievement. Studying his life is a fascinating way to imbibe the history of his era and gain insight into key events that have shaped our time. In political office at the end of WWI, he foresaw the folly of Versailles and feared what a crippled Germany would do to the balance of power. In his years in the political wilderness from 1931 to 1939, he alone of all British public men continually raised his voice against Hitler and his appeasers. For over fifty years, he was constantly involved in, and usually at the center of, the most important events of his age. It was, however, his obduracy on matters of principle, his fortitude in the face of opposition, and his perseverance in standing alone that defined him. As a biographer, William Manchester is the standard by which all others are measured. And when a writer of his caliber is matched with a subject as colorful as Winston Churchill, look for results that are magisterial. This, the first in a three-volume biography, is a momentous piece of work..… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member Doondeck
One of the finest books I have ever read. A masterful portrait of a great man and a wonderful survey of an age and an empire. This book is primary evidence to the importance of biography.
LibraryThing member lunza
This biography cannot be praised highly enough. It is so detailed and yet so well written that it does not seem dense or difficult at all. This volume covers the years up to 1932, when Churchill left the government and became a lone voice in the wilderness warning about the danger posed by Adolf
It is a shame that Manchester was not able to complete this work (which I guess would be at least two more volumes -- World War II and then his twilight years); I understand that someone else is going to, but it probably won't be the same.
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Hitler. The next volume covers the years of his exile, which ended in 1940 when he was unfortunately proven right about Hitler, and continues up to when he was named Prime Minister.It is a shame that Manchester was not able to complete this work (which I guess would be at least two more volumes -- World War II and then his twilight years); I understand that someone else is going to, but it probably won't be the same.
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LibraryThing member alwaysmlo
Perfect paring of subject and biographer. This book along with the volume that follows (The Last Lion: Alone) is my favorite biography, bar none.
LibraryThing member Whiskey3pa
It is not easy to write a cannot put down book of 900+ pages. William Manchester does.
LibraryThing member SeriousGrace
The scope of daily life during Churchill's lifetime is covered extensively in Manchester's Preamble and Prologue to Last Lion. The changing social scene, the evolving cultures and fashions; while these details are simple, they bog down the biography making it long and tedious. The preamble and
Once the reader gets to the real beginning of Manchester's biography on Churchill the story is fascinating. Manchester does an amazing job including photographs and letters to illustrate Churchill's life. Manchester's style of writing flows freely. Humor gives the biography a certain sparkle.
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prologue to Last Lion are like an old buggy, a very slow start. As a result the first chapter doesn't begin until page 110.Once the reader gets to the real beginning of Manchester's biography on Churchill the story is fascinating. Manchester does an amazing job including photographs and letters to illustrate Churchill's life. Manchester's style of writing flows freely. Humor gives the biography a certain sparkle.
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LibraryThing member stringsn88keys
Fascinating and thorough insight into Winston Churchill's early life including a few of his insights that could have ended WWI much earlier and/or prevented the lead up to WWII.
LibraryThing member buffalogr
Partially listened to this one...long, tedious and boring for listening. Maybe, if I could skim the extraneous drivel, it would be better,.
LibraryThing member Schmerguls
This volume came out in 1983 but I did not read it as I wanted to read all three volumes and I waited. The author died June 1, 2004 and the final volume was not publsshed till this year. So I read this stupendous work, excellently researched and stunningly written. It is a total triumph and I found
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it an amazing work. The life of Churchill is so full of drama that it defies imagination. From his birth on Nov 30, 1874, through his troubled childhood--neither parent gave him the attention he should have had--through his time at Sandhurst, his early time int he Army, in India, Cuba, Egypt, and most amnazingly in South Africa, the saga of his dramatic life ibrilliantly told. Then his parliamentary life--always catering to my intense interest parliamentary histoy--is toldHe soon was a major figure in Parliament and in Britain's life. This volume ends after his being hit on aNew York street by a car going 30 miles and hour. And of course, through all his troubles we know his greatest time is yet to come. This book, excellenltly researched is a sheer joy to read, even though you think you know all about Churchill. Show Less
LibraryThing member bontley
I enjoyed the writing. Very informative and balanced.
LibraryThing member dpappas
This is a comprehensive look at Winston Churchill's life up until 1932 (this is the first volume in a three volume set). This book felt like a journey to me. Not a long weary journey but that I was right alongside Churchill throughout his life. I found this to be absolutely fascinating and would
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definitely recommend this book to anyone looking to read a great biography of Winston Churchill. Just prepare yourself to spend a long period of time reading this. I look forward to reading the second volume. Show Less
LibraryThing member bke
First massive installment in William Manchester's massive biography of Churchill. With this much detail, it is also a good looks at Victorian England.
LibraryThing member publiusdb
There are few political leaders that have captured my imagination like Winston Churchill does. William Manchester not only tells the story of what is perhaps Britain's greatest prime minister, he does it in fantastic detail. I've read complaints that Manchester uses perhaps too much detail, but I
Manchester paints a picture of life at the end of one era--the Victorian--and beginning of the next, the Edwardian. Churchill's life straddled change in eras, and Manchester doesn't just write Churchill's biography, but a history of the time that is full and vibrant. Churchill isn't just a great leader, but a product of both the past and the future. His lived as colorfully and dangerously as any writer could have imagined, in spite of a beginning that was marked by comfort and wealth.
Born to a wealthy aristocratic family, Winston was raised by a nanny while his father and mother (an American) were off gallivanting with the nobles of England. Along the way, Winston proved to be a poor student and got himself kicked out of several schools. Never close to his father--if at all--Winston would write pleading letters to his mother to come visit him during the years he would spend at prep school. His father died young after being marginalized from a career that put him on the threshold of England's prime minister-ship.
The family's wealth mostly squandered, Winston was required to find a career, unique from his aristocratic peers who were used to living off of their families' wealth. He had always had an interest in the military, and he pursued a career that combined writing and military action, utilizing his mother's influence in the aristocracy to go where the action was. He saw action in Afghanistan and Sudan, and he sent home breathtaking accounts to the newspapers that catapulted him into the nation's consciousness. When he was taken as a POW in the Boer War, and escaped, he became a celebrity.
And it only gets better. Winston would feed himself by his pen for the rest of his life, writing articles, stories, books, and even publishing an entire newspaper during a nationwide general strike. He served as First Lord of the Admiralty at a time when Britain ruled the waives and the British Navy was unrivaled on the seas. Though later blamed for the disastrous Gallipoli campaign, Winston would be a remain force to reckoned with in the House of Commons through out his life. Winston would levy powerful rhetoric in defense of his allies and against his enemies, giving "impromptu" speeches after hours of preparation the night before.
This first volume of the biography covers the first fifty eight years of Churchill's life, up to a time when many politicians would be entering the twilight of their careers. Faced with setbacks and defeats, Churchill himself switched parties twice over the course of his career. With yet, his greatest hour, and Britain's, would come later with World War II.
I look forward reading the next volume in Manchester's trilogy.
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could not have enjoyed it more.Manchester paints a picture of life at the end of one era--the Victorian--and beginning of the next, the Edwardian. Churchill's life straddled change in eras, and Manchester doesn't just write Churchill's biography, but a history of the time that is full and vibrant. Churchill isn't just a great leader, but a product of both the past and the future. His lived as colorfully and dangerously as any writer could have imagined, in spite of a beginning that was marked by comfort and wealth.
Born to a wealthy aristocratic family, Winston was raised by a nanny while his father and mother (an American) were off gallivanting with the nobles of England. Along the way, Winston proved to be a poor student and got himself kicked out of several schools. Never close to his father--if at all--Winston would write pleading letters to his mother to come visit him during the years he would spend at prep school. His father died young after being marginalized from a career that put him on the threshold of England's prime minister-ship.
The family's wealth mostly squandered, Winston was required to find a career, unique from his aristocratic peers who were used to living off of their families' wealth. He had always had an interest in the military, and he pursued a career that combined writing and military action, utilizing his mother's influence in the aristocracy to go where the action was. He saw action in Afghanistan and Sudan, and he sent home breathtaking accounts to the newspapers that catapulted him into the nation's consciousness. When he was taken as a POW in the Boer War, and escaped, he became a celebrity.
And it only gets better. Winston would feed himself by his pen for the rest of his life, writing articles, stories, books, and even publishing an entire newspaper during a nationwide general strike. He served as First Lord of the Admiralty at a time when Britain ruled the waives and the British Navy was unrivaled on the seas. Though later blamed for the disastrous Gallipoli campaign, Winston would be a remain force to reckoned with in the House of Commons through out his life. Winston would levy powerful rhetoric in defense of his allies and against his enemies, giving "impromptu" speeches after hours of preparation the night before.
This first volume of the biography covers the first fifty eight years of Churchill's life, up to a time when many politicians would be entering the twilight of their careers. Faced with setbacks and defeats, Churchill himself switched parties twice over the course of his career. With yet, his greatest hour, and Britain's, would come later with World War II.
I look forward reading the next volume in Manchester's trilogy.
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LibraryThing member dtgwynn
The Last Lion, William Manchester’s three-volume biography of Winston Churchill, has been called one of the greatest biographies of the 20th century. Having just completed the first volume (Visions of Glory, 1874-1932), I must eagerly agree. Three elements especially stand out to me. First,
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Manchester paints a brilliant picture of Great Britain during Churchill’s early years, when the Empire was at its peak of power and apparent security. This is vital because Churchill must be judged according to his own time and circumstances. Second, Manchester includes vast amounts of first-hand sources such as personal letters, memoranda, journals, and newspaper accounts, which bring great detail to the story. This material is always woven into the text in an engaging way that captures Churchill’s many astounding traits. The depth of the author’s study is evident here. Third, Manchester treats the reader to the entire breadth of Churchill’s public life. Some of Churchill’s less well-known activities are brought to life, such as his negotiation of peace in Ireland, his passionate speech against a powerful British general who had needlessly slaughtered hundreds of Indians, and his staunch position against Indian independence that led to his ostracism from the British government in the 1930s. If a weakness must be found, it would have to be the lack of background information regarding the Irish conflict. This book is the place to start if you are interested in Churchill. I look forward to reading the next volume in the set. Show Less
LibraryThing member Stbalbach
An exceptionally long biography of Churchill's "early" life, until about age 57. The salient point is that Churchill's primary strength was his mastery of the English language. He wielded language as a sharp sword. It helped that he was born gifted, a rare intellect with almost perfect memory
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recall. He was an oratory genius. I hope to get to the next volume but need a break, this volume peters out towards the end as the 1920s were drifting compared to his earlier years. By 1932 he was already becoming old-fashioned, out of style and replaced by more modernist forces. But Hitler and Stalin would make him relevant again, for a few years more. Show Less
LibraryThing member Urquhart
A tour de force by the author as well as the subject.
LibraryThing member charlie68
Good book detailing the life of Winston Churchill. A lot of things will surprise the reader. An interesting character.
LibraryThing member mattries37315
Before he became the face of the dogged determination in World War II and the voice of inspiration for the British people, Winston Churchill was a scion of a noble family looking to make his mark and coming close on many occasions. The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill: Visions of Glory,
A scion of the ducal Marlborough family, Winston Spencer-Churchill was the eldest son of a second son and his American wife. Before even getting to Winston’s birth and life, Manchester paints the social, cultural, and political landscape he would be born into, be indoctrinated to believe in, and defend his entire life. Throughout his life, Winston would use the connections of his parent’s friends and acquaintances to advance himself early in his career while a boon to his military and early political careers it hardly made up for the fact that both his parents were aloof to his existence even for the times of the British upper class. Manchester relates Winston’s school misadventures and horrible academic record for the classical education expected off one of his station, but while he failed to understand Greek or Latin his “remedial” studies of English year after year would serve him the rest of his life as a journalist, author, and speaking in Parliament. While he served in wars in the frontier of the Empire, first in India then in Sudan, and afterwards in South Africa he initially went there as a “journalist” but used his military rank to join battles or was recruited by the commander on the spot to lead men. Upon the completion of the Boer War, during which he was taken prisoner and escaped, Winston entered politics in his eyes to take up his late father’s torch. Once on the floor of the House, Winston’s speeches were events to be listened to and to be written about in the papers. His familial connections got him in touch with the high circles of the Conservative party, but the issue of Free Trade and his own “radical” views on issues made him become a Liberal and soon found him apart of the new government the party form and would be until after the events connected with Gallipoli during the First World War resulted in him taking to the trenches on the Western Front. After a return to a position in the Government, Winston soon found him edging away from the Liberal Party that was dying in the face for the rise of the Labour Party and soon returned the Conservatives to be among their new Government. Yet the same tensions that made Winston leave the Party in the first place were still there but with more animosity but it was the issue of India sent Winston still a Conservative into the political wilderness that many of his political adversaries believed him to be finished, especially at his age.
In nearly 900 pages of text, Manchester not only details the first 58 years of Winston’s life but also the times he lived in while slowly setting things up for the final volume for the events in which he is most well-known to the public today. There seems to be a bias by Manchester towards Winston that does make it through to the page instead of a little more balanced writing in places, however Manchester does not shy away that Winston’s views and words around the India issue essentially were racist even though at the time it was common thought by many in Britain. Manchester gives balanced view of Winston’s relations with the working class while at the same time revealing why Labour and the press said he was against them. The account of the Dardanelles and Gallipoli campaign that is always blamed on Winston is given fully fleshed out including what actions Winston were accountable for and those he was not and why it was he that the failure was attached to.
Visions of Glory, 1874-1932 reveals the times and environment in which Winston Churchill was brought up and how they shaped him as he entered politics and attempted to rise to power. William Manchester gives a full picture of a young then middle-aged politician whose life was a roller coaster that influenced the British Empire its domestic and foreign affairs, but never held ultimate power and seemed never to. If one wants to know Churchill this book is a great place to start.
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1874-1932 is the first volume of William Manchester’s biographical trilogy which deals with Churchill’s early life and his adventurous political career until he was shunned by power and entered the political wilderness.A scion of the ducal Marlborough family, Winston Spencer-Churchill was the eldest son of a second son and his American wife. Before even getting to Winston’s birth and life, Manchester paints the social, cultural, and political landscape he would be born into, be indoctrinated to believe in, and defend his entire life. Throughout his life, Winston would use the connections of his parent’s friends and acquaintances to advance himself early in his career while a boon to his military and early political careers it hardly made up for the fact that both his parents were aloof to his existence even for the times of the British upper class. Manchester relates Winston’s school misadventures and horrible academic record for the classical education expected off one of his station, but while he failed to understand Greek or Latin his “remedial” studies of English year after year would serve him the rest of his life as a journalist, author, and speaking in Parliament. While he served in wars in the frontier of the Empire, first in India then in Sudan, and afterwards in South Africa he initially went there as a “journalist” but used his military rank to join battles or was recruited by the commander on the spot to lead men. Upon the completion of the Boer War, during which he was taken prisoner and escaped, Winston entered politics in his eyes to take up his late father’s torch. Once on the floor of the House, Winston’s speeches were events to be listened to and to be written about in the papers. His familial connections got him in touch with the high circles of the Conservative party, but the issue of Free Trade and his own “radical” views on issues made him become a Liberal and soon found him apart of the new government the party form and would be until after the events connected with Gallipoli during the First World War resulted in him taking to the trenches on the Western Front. After a return to a position in the Government, Winston soon found him edging away from the Liberal Party that was dying in the face for the rise of the Labour Party and soon returned the Conservatives to be among their new Government. Yet the same tensions that made Winston leave the Party in the first place were still there but with more animosity but it was the issue of India sent Winston still a Conservative into the political wilderness that many of his political adversaries believed him to be finished, especially at his age.
In nearly 900 pages of text, Manchester not only details the first 58 years of Winston’s life but also the times he lived in while slowly setting things up for the final volume for the events in which he is most well-known to the public today. There seems to be a bias by Manchester towards Winston that does make it through to the page instead of a little more balanced writing in places, however Manchester does not shy away that Winston’s views and words around the India issue essentially were racist even though at the time it was common thought by many in Britain. Manchester gives balanced view of Winston’s relations with the working class while at the same time revealing why Labour and the press said he was against them. The account of the Dardanelles and Gallipoli campaign that is always blamed on Winston is given fully fleshed out including what actions Winston were accountable for and those he was not and why it was he that the failure was attached to.
Visions of Glory, 1874-1932 reveals the times and environment in which Winston Churchill was brought up and how they shaped him as he entered politics and attempted to rise to power. William Manchester gives a full picture of a young then middle-aged politician whose life was a roller coaster that influenced the British Empire its domestic and foreign affairs, but never held ultimate power and seemed never to. If one wants to know Churchill this book is a great place to start.
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LibraryThing member Overgaard
This is a 2 volume book but isbns are identical - unfortunately - because the second is a sequel and the third was not published until after Manchester's death - and written w help of another so not the same quality
LibraryThing member bangerlm
One down, two to go. These books have been on my list for a while, but due to their length (41 hours for the first audiobook), I had been hesitant to start. I listened to the Audible version of the book, which was really well narrated.
This book is best described as a general history of political
This book is best described as a general history of political
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and patrician England from 1874 - 1932 with a focus on the vast detail's of Winston Churchill's life during this time. My favorite parts were the letters between him and his wife Clementine. As a person in which any and every emotion brings tears to my eyes, I loved the tidbit that Churchill was also a cryer. The letters to his parents when he was a young boy were heartbreaking. It is easy to see how other people would have found Churchill during this time both exasperating and loveable, admirable and confounding. Truly his strength was an ability to follow his vision with conviction and determination, but also willing to change his perceptions when new evidence or circumstances were presented -- which is a difficult path to take as a politician in which people want to label you so as to know where you stand. Show Less
LibraryThing member tuckerresearch
An excellent, extensive account of Churchill's full and interesting early life. If Churchill had died in 1932, he would still deserve a biography. Manchester's prose is excellent, his coverage interesting and extensive, his background material is informative and needed. A rightly justified classic
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and a good intro to his now completed trilogy. Good images, nice map on the endpapers, notes, bib, and index. Show Less
Subjects
Language
Original publication date
1983