No comments about Winston S. Churchill: Challenge of War 1914-1916.

No comments about Winston Churchill.

No comments about Winston and Clemintine: The Triumphs and Tragedies of the Churchills.

No comments about Winston Churchill - Biography of a Nobel Statesmen.

No comments about The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill; Alone: 1932-1940.

No comments about The Last Lion Part A: Winston Spencer Churchill, Alone, 1932-1940.

No comments about The Eden-Eisenhower Correspondence, 1955-1957.

2 comments about Churchill (Life & Times) (Life&Times).

1. This powerfully written and informative biography of Winston Churchill tells the story of a monumental British figure who was to influenced the world of the 20th Century. European journalist and Churchill biographer Sebastian Haffner was one of the foremost figures in European writing and influenced Churchill's policy towards Germany and the Nazis. In this major examination of Churchill's life and accomplishments, Haffner provides a passionate and involving probe of the man whose methods and motivations changed the political shape of European history.



2. This book is a great account of Churchill's life; how 3 wars made him famous, his rise and fall in British politics, his private life and other subjects. Churchill had an interesting life. Haffner had an interesting way of telling and writing. Together it makes this book one that you should read.

No comments about Family Album: A Personal Selection from Four Generations of Churchills.

1 comments about Margaret Thatcher, Volume 1: The Grocer's Daughter.

1. This well-researched book covers the life of Margaret Thatcher from her birth and her childhood in Grantham to her election as Prime Minister in 1979. Her youth and education are dealt with in the chapters Dutiful Daughter, Serious Schoolgirl and Oxford Tory, whilst the chapter Young Conservative recounts the story of her first job, her marriage to Denis Thatcher and her first spirited election campaigns in safe Labour seats.
   
   The birth of her children, her life as a mother and housewife and her legal studies are discussed in chapter six: Superwoman. This chapter concludes with her stunning victory in the Finchley constituency in the 1959 election. The next two chapters describe her life as a backbencher and a junior minister. Between 1964 and 1970 with the Conservatives in opposition, Thatcher held many different portfolios: junior spokeswoman on pensions, housing and economic policy and member of the shadow cabinet for power, transport and finally education.
   
   After the Tory victory in 1970 she was education secretary for more than three years. The Conservatives were defeated in 1974 and the next year she was elected leader of the opposition, the role dealt with in the chapter of the same name. The exciting election campaign of 1979 is covered in the chapter Into Downing Street, which also deals with the beginning of her long and glorious reign as Prime Minister.
   
   The text is filled with quotes from newspapers and people who played a role in her life. The author has gone to great lengths to be as thorough and meticulous as possible; the research cannot be faulted. Furthermore, Campbell manages to capture the mood of the times very well in his analysis of British history and politics and succeeds in making the detail interesting. For example, the election results for Margaret's Finchley constituency are provided throughout the book, for every election.
   
   As a great admirer of Thatcher, I do not agree with his every conclusion or every single point of opinion, but his work is exhaustive and impressive. It is also quite readable although the avalanche of facts, figures and analysis do sometimes reach overload.
   
   Of the book's 33 black and white photographs, my favourites include a picture of Margaret aged 4 with her sister, the proud mother with twins in 1953 and the future Prime Minister holding a calf in the 1979 election campaign. The book includes 41 pages of notes and references, a vast bibliography and an index.
   
   Along with volume 2: Margaret Thatcher, Volume II : The Iron Lady, this excellent book will surely stand the test of time as the most authoritative biography of this remarkable woman. I also recommend Thatcher's book Statecraft: Strategies for a Changing World, a highly readable and insightful look at world politics at the beginning of the 21st century.