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Warlord

A Life of Winston Churchill at War, 1874-1945

Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

Warlordis the definitive chronicle of Winston 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.

Carlo D'Este's brilliant biography examines 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.

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,Warlordis 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.

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  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Starting with young Winston's love of toy soldiers, Carlo D'Este proposed to examine the military aspects of Churchill's later life. He fails to separate the warrior from the statesman but successfully deals with one of the most complex men of recent times. With eloquent prose and an abundance of anecdotes he imparts insights into Churchill's character. One cannot say that the strong bass voice of narrator Tom Weiner stays in the background, but his consistency of speech permits listeners to focus on the rich language and details of British history. Although Wiener's treatment abounds with nuance and expression, he avoids mimicking Churchill's famous speaking voice. No rosy portrait of the PM emerges, but the complex character depicted will allow readers to form their own opinions. J.A.H. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from September 8, 2008
      D'Este (Patton: A Genius for War
      ) 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. As a child, Winston Churchill was “headstrong, highly opinionated, and virtually impossible to control.” Those traits remained throughout a life he often regretted having spent in council chambers rather than on battlefields. His experiences as a young man in India, South Africa and the Sudan left him with both an abhorrence of war and a passion for soldiering. D'Este skillfully demonstrates how these traits shaped Churchill's persistent advocacy for preparedness and negotiation as means of averting war and his determination to see war through when deterrence failed. D'Este camouflages 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, 1940's Battle of Britain and the D-Day invasion in 1944. Elegantly written, this tour de force belongs in every library addressing the 20th century. 16 pages of b&w photos, 9 maps.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

Languages

  • English

Levels

  • Text Difficulty:9-12

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