Please read item description
IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF CHURCHILL
(RICHARD HOLMES)
Richard
Holmes' insightful new biography of one of Britain's greatest leaders is both a
study in character and the story of an extraordinary career. Much has been written about Churchill's role
as British prime minister during the crisis years of the Second World War, but
in this book, Holmes uses new material to investigate the influences that shaped
the man: his troubled school days, his flamboyant politician father, Randolph,
and his famously attractive American mother, Jennie. Holmes argues that the qualities that made Churchill
great also led him to commit catastrophic blunders. The same recklessness that made him a hero when
he was a young correspondent during the Boer War arguably cost thousands of
Allied lives during the Gallipoli campaign in 1915 and may also have contributed
to the fall of Singapore in 1942.
‘In the
Footsteps of Churchill’ takes us on an exhilarating journey through Harrow School,
the North-West Frontier, the Sudan, South Africa, 10 Downing Street and his beloved
Chartwell; a journey that begins in the aristocratic splendour of Blenheim
Palace and ends in the quiet of a country churchyard not far away – the compass
of an extraordinary life in a few Oxfordshire acres.
“Richard
Holmes provides a truly fresh interpretation of the great man ... Holmes's mature
and wise portrait is studded with facts about the period and episodes in Churchill's
life that amuse, engage and entice. The author's
eye for the telling detail, as well as his deep immersion in all the relevant
archives, raises this book far above the common ruck of Churchilliana” – Andrew
Roberts.
“This supremely
skilful military historian achieves a freshness of approach that makes Churchill
hard to put down” – Max Hastings, Mail on Sunday.
ISBN: 0-563-52176-7
This 2005 1st edition hardback book is in very good overall condition. There are signs of wear to the dustjacket in the form of bumps to the edges and corners together with light marks on the covers (see photograph). All pages are present, tightly bound, and free from tears, creases, and significant marks. The book runs to 351 pages (23.5cm x 14.5cm), includes several useful appendices, a detailed index plus an additional 24 pages of photographs, some in colour, together with several maps within the text.