First published 2014
Boris Johnson takes on Winston Churchill fifty years after his death, dismantling myths while celebrating his singular impact. Johnson portrays a man of contradictions: fearless in battle yet ordered by the king to avoid D-Day action, a pioneer of aerial bombing who despised war, the era's most famous journalist despite a lisp and depression he fought through painting. Churchill maneuvered America into World War II while ushering in Britain's decline. He championed health care and social welfare while remaining politically incorrect. Johnson argues against the notion that impersonal forces drive history. Instead, he presents Churchill as proof that one determined individual can alter the world's trajectory through courage, eloquence, and strategic brilliance.
Genres: biography, history, 20th-century, non-fiction, 21st-century
Vibes: intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: historical-figures
Setting: Britain, United States
Period: 20th Century, 21st Century
400 pages · Hardcover · Riverhead Books