Meeting Churchill - by Sinclair McKay (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

This insightful portrait of Winston Churchill delves beyond well-known political moments, incorporating perspectives from various individuals who encountered him throughout his life.

From Bletchley Park codebreakers and Hollywood stars such as Charlie Chaplin, through writers as varied as H. G. Wells and P. G. Wodehouse, to the likes of Harold Wilson, Mahatma Gandhi and Queen Elizabeth II, these lesser-known interactions reveal glimpses of the man behind the legend.

We meet Churchill the exuberant schoolboy thug with an early mania for bull-dogs, and Churchill the elder statesman shedding a tear in the House of Commons smoking room. Other incidents include a young journalist rudely dismissing a call from Churchill as a prank, and a visiting Dwight D. Eisenhower dreaming of being strangled, only to awake entangled in Churchill's borrowed nightshirt.

The book showcases the profound transformations during Churchill's lifetime, which ran from Benjamin Disraeli's premiership to the release of the Rolling Stones' 'Route 66', and the shift from steam to atomic power. Examining controversial aspects of his legacy, this multifaceted portrait challenges preconceived notions, inviting readers to reconsider the complexities of Churchill.

Review Quotes

"Anecdotally rich . . . McKay's sparkling prose and expert mining of archival material results in a memorable study of a city." ―Publishers WeeklyonBerlin: Life and Death in the City at the Center of the World
"McKay's rich narrative and descriptive gifts provide us with an elegant yet unflinching account of that terrible night... to be recommended as a very readable and finely crafted addition to the literature on one of modern history's most morally fraught military operations." ―Wall Street Journal onThe Fire and the Darkness: The Bombing of Dresden, 1945

About the Author

Sinclair McKay is the Sunday Times bestselling author of Meeting Churchill, Berlin, Dresden, The Secret Life of Bletchley Park, The Secret Listeners, Bletchley Park Brainteasers and Secret Service Brainteasers. He is a literary critic for the Telegraph and the Spectator and lives in London.