Here are some of the best of Churchill's letters of a more personal and intimate nature, presented in chronological order, with a preface to each letter explaining the context. The recipients include a vast range of people, including his schoolmaster, his American grandmother and former President Eisenhower. They are taken from within the Churchill Archive in Cambridge, where there is a mass of Churchill's correspondence, much of which is unpublished. Many of the letters included have never appeared in book form before. Winston Churchill has become an iconic figure greatly loved the world over, but maybe especially these days in the USA. Churchill understood the power of words and he used his writing to sustain and complement his political career, publishing over 40 books and receiving the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1953. This volume concentrates on his more intimate words. It seeks to show the private man behind the public figure and introduce fresh light on Churchill's character and personality by capturing the drama, immediacy, storms, depressions, passions and challenges of Churchill's extraordinary career. Churchill was neither a god nor a demon. Through these letters we see him as a human being with human emotions, frailties and a large ego. He was not always right. He held strong opinions and was often provocative. These letters take us into his world and allow us to follow the changes in his motivations and beliefs as he navigates his 90 years. There are intimate letters to his parents, his teacher at Harrow, Louis de Souza (Boer Secretary of State for War), his wife Clementine, Prime Minister Asquith, Lord Northcliffe, Anthony Eden, President Roosevelt, Eamon De Valera, the French Socialist Prime Minister Leon Blum and Charles De Gaulle. These are all letters of a personal nature and are most illuminating. They are enhanced by facsimiles of the letters and images which appear throughout the book, helping the reader to envisage a sense of Churchill in his most private moments.

The World Crisis is considered by many to be Winston S. Churchill's literary masterpiece. Published across five volumes between 1923 and 1931, Churchill here tells the story of The Great War, from its origins to the long shadow it cast on the following decades. At once a history and a first-hand account of Churchill's own involvement in the war, The World Crisis remains a compelling account of the conflict and its importance. The third volume of The World Crisis covers the climax and the end of the war, from 1916-1918. Churchill here explores some of the most important moments of the conflict, including the battles of Verdun, Jutland, Passchendaele and the Somme as well as the American entry into the war that marked the beginning of its end. Churchill here also recounts his time on the front line during his brief exile from political office and his return to government in Lloyd-George's wartime coalition as Minster of Munitions.

'This history will endure; not only because Sir Winston has written it, but also because of its own inherent virtues - its narrative power, its fine judgment of war and politics, of soldiers and statesmen, and even more because it reflects a tradition of what Englishmen in the hey-day of their empire thought and felt about their country's past.' The Daily Telegraph Spanning Caesar's invasion of Britain to the birth of the twentieth century, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples stands as one of Winston S. Churchill's most magnificent literary works. Begun during Churchill's 'wilderness years' when he was out of government, first published in 1956 after his leadership through the darkest days of World War II had cemented his place in history, and completed when Churchill was in his 80s, it remains to this day a compelling and vivid history. This one-volume abridged edition of Churchill's major work makes accessible to readers the full sweep of his magisterial chronicle of the history of Britain. It combines Churchill's intriguing, closely observed biographical profiles of a succession of leaders - including Alfred the Great, Henry Plantagenet, Henry V, Richard III, Charles I, William Pitt and Queen Victoria - with the key events and developments that were to shape the course of history. Restored to this edition is the abridged version of the American history from the individual volumes, covering the War of American Independence and the American Civil War, each introduced by the editor.

The World Crisis is considered by many to be Winston S. Churchill's literary masterpiece. Published across five volumes between 1923 and 1931, Churchill here tells the story of The Great War, from its origins to the long shadow it cast on the following decades. At once a history and a first-hand account of Churchill's own involvement in the war, The World Crisis remains a compelling account of the conflict and its importance. In the fourth volume of his history of World War I, Churchill covers the aftermath of the conflict, between the years 1918-1922. Churchill here considers the process of demobilization after the many hard years of war, and the long negotiation of the peace and the Treaty of Versailles, as well as President Woodrow Wilson's famed 14 Points, the founding of the League of Nations and the Revolution and Civil War in Russia.

"I am perhaps the only man who has passed through the two supreme cataclysms of recorded history in high executive office... I was in this second struggle with Germany for more than five years the head of His Majesty's Government. I write therefore from a different standpoint and with more authority than was possible in my earlier books. I do not describe it as a history, for that belongs to another generation. But I claim with confidence that it is a contribution to history which will be of service to the future." Sir Winston Churchill From the origins of the conflict, the rise of Hitler and the futile attempts at appeasement, through the darkest days of Britain's lone stand against the Axis powers, the great alliances with the USA and Soviet Russia and the triumphs of D Day and the eventual liberation of Europe to the terrible birth of the Cold War under the shadow of nuclear weaponry, this is Winston Churchill's landmark history of World War II. At once a personal account and a magisterial history, The Second World War remains Churchill's literary masterpiece.

The World Crisis is considered by many to be Winston S. Churchill's literary masterpiece. Published across five volumes between 1923 and 1931, Churchill here tells the story of The Great War, from its origins to the long shadow it cast on the following decades. At once a history and a first-hand account of Churchill's own involvement in the war, The World Crisis remains a compelling account of the conflict and its importance. Volume I covers the origins and earliest days of the war from 1911-1914, as well as the longer history of the collapse of the Great Power system from the Franco Prussian war onwards. Churchill here explores the international tensions over the Balkan states that triggered the conflict as well as the arms race between the British and German navies.

The World Crisis is considered by many to be Winston S. Churchill's literary masterpiece. Published across five volumes between 1923 and 1931, Churchill here tells the story of The Great War, from its origins to the long shadow it cast on the following decades. At once a history and a first-hand account of Churchill's own involvement in the war, The World Crisis remains a compelling account of the conflict and its importance. In the fifth and final volume of The World Crisis, Winston Churchill turns his attention to the 'forgotten war' on the Eastern Front. His focus is the great rivalry between Russia and the Austro-German alliance during the years of the First World War, from the tensions over Bosnia and Serbia that triggered the conflict through the terrible battles on the Eastern Front to the final collapse of the Russian forces that triggered the Revolution.

"This history will endure; not only because Sir Winston has written it, but also because of its own inherent virtues - its narrative power, its fine judgment of war and politics, of soldiers and statesmen, and even more because it reflects a tradition of what Englishmen in the hey-day of their empire thought and felt about their country's past." The Daily Telegraph Spanning four volumes and many centuries of history, from Caesar's invasion of Britain to the start of World War I, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples stands as one of Winston S. Churchill's most magnificent literary works. Begun during Churchill's 'wilderness years' when he was out of government, first published in 1956 after his leadership through the darkest days of World War II had cemented his place in history and completed when Churchill was in his 80s, it remains to this day a compelling and vivid history. The first volume - The Birth of Britain - tells the story of the formation of the British state, from the arrival of Julius Caesar and the Roman Empire through the invasions of the Vikings and the Normans, the signing of the Magna Carta and establishment of the mother of parliaments to the War of the Roses.

The World Crisis is considered by many to be Winston S. Churchill's literary masterpiece. Published across five volumes between 1923 and 1931, Churchill here tells the story of The Great War, from its origins to the long shadow it cast on the following decades. At once a history and a first-hand account of Churchill's own involvement in the war, The World Crisis remains a compelling account of the conflict and its importance. The second volume of Churchill's history covers 1915 - the first full year of a conflict that most of the antagonists had expected to be over in a matter of months. Churchill here covers the intractable deadlock on the western front, the use of tanks and gas on the battlefields and the unsuccessful attempts by both sides to break through. In addition, Churchill also considers his own involvement in the Dardanelles campaign (Gallipoli).

"This history will endure; not only because Sir Winston has written it, but also because of its own inherent virtues - its narrative power, its fine judgment of war and politics, of soldiers and statesmen, and even more because it reflects a tradition of what Englishmen in the hey-day of their empire thought and felt about their country's past." The Daily Telegraph Spanning four volumes and many centuries of history, from Caesar's invasion of Britain to the start of World War I, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples stands as one of Winston Churchill's most magnificent literary works. Begun during Churchill's 'wilderness years' when he was out of government, first published in 1956 after his leadership through the darkest days of World War II had cemented his place in history and completed when Churchill was in his 80s, it remains to this day a compelling and vivid history. In The Age of Revolution - the third volume of Churchill's history - Churchill charts the rise of Great Britain as a world power and the long rivalry with France, the shadow of the French Revolution, the rise of Napoleon and his defeat at Waterloo. The volume also covers the rise of the American colonies, their triumphant overthrow of British rule in the War of Independence and the first great generation of American leaders: Washington, Adams and Jefferson.

"This history will endure; not only because Sir Winston has written it, but also because of its own inherent virtues - its narrative power, its fine judgment of war and politics, of soldiers and statesmen, and even more because it reflects a tradition of what Englishmen in the hey-day of their empire thought and felt about their country's past." The Daily Telegraph Spanning four volumes and many centuries of history, from Caesar's invasion of Britain to the start of World War I, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples stands as one of Winston Churchill's most magnificent literary works. Begun during Churchill's 'wilderness years' when he was out of government, first published in 1956 after his leadership through the darkest days of World War II had cemented his place in history and completed when Churchill was in his 80s, it remains to this day a compelling and vivid history. The second volume - The New World - explores the emergence of Britain on the world stage and a turbulent period at home: from Henry VIII's break with Rome and the English Reformation to the fending off of the Spanish Armada and the schism between parliament and crown that led to the civil war, the fall and rise of the monarchy and the rule of Oliver Cromwell. The book also covers the historic journey of the 'Mayflower' that saw the English-speaking peoples' arrival in the Americas.

"This history will endure; not only because Sir Winston has written it, but also because of its own inherent virtues - its narrative power, its fine judgment of war and politics, of soldiers and statesmen, and even more because it reflects a tradition of what Englishmen in the hey-day of their empire thought and felt about their country's past." The Daily Telegraph Spanning four volumes and many centuries of history, from Caesar's invasion of Britain to the start of World War I, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples stands as one of Winston Churchill's most magnificent literary works. Begun during Churchill's 'wilderness years' when he was out of government, first published in 1956 after his leadership through the darkest days of World War II had cemented his place in history and completed when Churchill was in his 80s, it remains to this day a compelling and vivid history. The Great Democracies is the fourth and final volume of Churchill's history. Here, Churchill reaches the modern era. For Britain, this was the high Victorian era of Palmerston, Gladstone and Disraeli, an age of free trade and imperialism as the British spread to Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Meanwhile the fledgling republic in America endured the great crisis of the Civil War to take its first steps on the road to becoming the world superpower that endures to this day.

Seeking military distinction, the 22-year-old Winston S. Churchill talked his way into the Malakand Field Force as a war correspondent, reporting on the front line in a struggle against restless tribes on the Northwest Frontier. Churchill describes dramatic campaigns, his writing always rooted in the exotic and, at times, adverse environment of the area now part of Pakistan. This experience of entrenched and increasingly mechanized warfare almost certainly influenced his command during the First World War, when he was better able than most to understand the nature of military stalemate. In this, his first book, he collected his reports of the conflict, providing a fascinating look at the start of Churchill's career as both a writer and as a soldier.

The World Crisis is considered by many to be Winston S. Churchill's literary masterpiece. Published across five volumes between 1923 and 1931, Churchill here tells the story of The Great War, from its origins to the long shadow it cast on the following decades. At once a history and a first-hand account of Churchill's own involvement in the war, The World Crisis remains a compelling account of the conflict and its importance. In the fourth volume of his history of World War I, Churchill covers the aftermath of the conflict, between the years 1918-1922. Churchill here considers the process of demobilization after the many hard years of war, and the long negotiation of the peace and the Treaty of Versailles, as well as President Woodrow Wilson's famed 14 Points, the founding of the League of Nations and the Revolution and Civil War in Russia.

The World Crisis is considered by many to be Winston S. Churchill's literary masterpiece. Published across five volumes between 1923 and 1931, Churchill here tells the story of The Great War, from its origins to the long shadow it cast on the following decades. At once a history and a first-hand account of Churchill's own involvement in the war, The World Crisis remains a compelling account of the conflict and its importance. Volume I covers the origins and earliest days of the war from 1911-1914, as well as the longer history of the collapse of the Great Power system from the Franco Prussian war onwards. Churchill here explores the international tensions over the Balkan states that triggered the conflict as well as the arms race between the British and German navies.

The World Crisis is considered by many to be Winston S. Churchill's literary masterpiece. Published across five volumes between 1923 and 1931, Churchill here tells the story of The Great War, from its origins to the long shadow it cast on the following decades. At once a history and a first-hand account of Churchill's own involvement in the war, The World Crisis remains a compelling account of the conflict and its importance. The third volume of The World Crisis covers the climax and the end of the war, from 1916-1918. Churchill here explores some of the most important moments of the conflict, including the battles of Verdun, Jutland, Passchendaele and the Somme as well as the American entry into the war that marked the beginning of its end. Churchill here also recounts his time on the front line during his brief exile from political office and his return to government in Lloyd-George's wartime coalition as Minster of Munitions.

The World Crisis is considered by many to be Winston S. Churchill's literary masterpiece. Published across five volumes between 1923 and 1931, Churchill here tells the story of The Great War, from its origins to the long shadow it cast on the following decades. At once a history and a first-hand account of Churchill's own involvement in the war, The World Crisis remains a compelling account of the conflict and its importance. In the fifth and final volume of The World Crisis, Winston Churchill turns his attention to the 'forgotten war' on the Eastern Front. His focus is the great rivalry between Russia and the Austro-German alliance during the years of the First World War, from the tensions over Bosnia and Serbia that triggered the conflict through the terrible battles on the Eastern Front to the final collapse of the Russian forces that triggered the Revolution.

The World Crisis is considered by many to be Winston S. Churchill's literary masterpiece. Published across five volumes between 1923 and 1931, Churchill here tells the story of The Great War, from its origins to the long shadow it cast on the following decades. At once a history and a first-hand account of Churchill's own involvement in the war, The World Crisis remains a compelling account of the conflict and its importance. The second volume of Churchill's history covers 1915 - the first full year of a conflict that most of the antagonists had expected to be over in a matter of months. Churchill here covers the intractable deadlock on the western front, the use of tanks and gas on the battlefields and the unsuccessful attempts by both sides to break through. In addition, Churchill also considers his own involvement in the Dardanelles campaign (Gallipoli).

"This history will endure; not only because Sir Winston has written it, but also because of its own inherent virtues - its narrative power, its fine judgment of war and politics, of soldiers and statesmen, and even more because it reflects a tradition of what Englishmen in the hey-day of their empire thought and felt about their country's past." The Daily Telegraph Spanning four volumes and many centuries of history, from Caesar's invasion of Britain to the start of World War I, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples stands as one of Winston Churchill's most magnificent literary works. Begun during Churchill's 'wilderness years' when he was out of government, first published in 1956 after his leadership through the darkest days of World War II had cemented his place in history and completed when Churchill was in his 80s, it remains to this day a compelling and vivid history. The second volume - The New World - explores the emergence of Britain on the world stage and a turbulent period at home: from Henry VIII's break with Rome and the English Reformation to the fending off of the Spanish Armada and the schism between parliament and crown that led to the civil war, the fall and rise of the monarchy and the rule of Oliver Cromwell. The book also covers the historic journey of the 'Mayflower' that saw the English-speaking peoples' arrival in the Americas.

"This history will endure; not only because Sir Winston has written it, but also because of its own inherent virtues - its narrative power, its fine judgment of war and politics, of soldiers and statesmen, and even more because it reflects a tradition of what Englishmen in the hey-day of their empire thought and felt about their country's past." The Daily Telegraph Spanning four volumes and many centuries of history, from Caesar's invasion of Britain to the start of World War I, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples stands as one of Winston Churchill's most magnificent literary works. Begun during Churchill's 'wilderness years' when he was out of government, first published in 1956 after his leadership through the darkest days of World War II had cemented his place in history and completed when Churchill was in his 80s, it remains to this day a compelling and vivid history. In The Age of Revolution - the third volume of Churchill's history - Churchill charts the rise of Great Britain as a world power and the long rivalry with France, the shadow of the French Revolution, the rise of Napoleon and his defeat at Waterloo. The volume also covers the rise of the American colonies, their triumphant overthrow of British rule in the War of Independence and the first great generation of American leaders: Washington, Adams and Jefferson.

"This history will endure; not only because Sir Winston has written it, but also because of its own inherent virtues - its narrative power, its fine judgment of war and politics, of soldiers and statesmen, and even more because it reflects a tradition of what Englishmen in the hey-day of their empire thought and felt about their country's past." The Daily Telegraph Spanning four volumes and many centuries of history, from Caesar's invasion of Britain to the start of World War I, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples stands as one of Winston Churchill's most magnificent literary works. Begun during Churchill's 'wilderness years' when he was out of government, first published in 1956 after his leadership through the darkest days of World War II had cemented his place in history and completed when Churchill was in his 80s, it remains to this day a compelling and vivid history. The Great Democracies is the fourth and final volume of Churchill's history. Here, Churchill reaches the modern era. For Britain, this was the high Victorian era of Palmerston, Gladstone and Disraeli, an age of free trade and imperialism as the British spread to Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Meanwhile the fledgling republic in America endured the great crisis of the Civil War to take its first steps on the road to becoming the world superpower that endures to this day.

In the years following the great depression, with Germany rearming and the rise of fascism across Europe being met with a policy of appeasement from the Democratic countries, Winston Churchill stood as a rare voice in the wilderness, warning of the dangers to come. Now available in the Bloomsbury Revelations series to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War Two, Step By Step is a powerful collection of Churchill's newspaper writings in the years before the outbreak of war. Including his writings on the inadequacy of Britain's navy, the dramas of the Spanish Civil War, the influence of the Soviet Union and the alliance between Hitler and Mussolini, the book is a powerful demonstration of Churchill's political foresight and the power of his writing.

"This history will endure; not only because Sir Winston has written it, but also because of its own inherent virtues - its narrative power, its fine judgment of war and politics, of soldiers and statesmen, and even more because it reflects a tradition of what Englishmen in the hey-day of their empire thought and felt about their country's past." The Daily Telegraph Spanning four volumes and many centuries of history, from Caesar's invasion of Britain to the start of World War I, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples stands as one of Winston S. Churchill's most magnificent literary works. Begun during Churchill's 'wilderness years' when he was out of government, first published in 1956 after his leadership through the darkest days of World War II had cemented his place in history and completed when Churchill was in his 80s, it remains to this day a compelling and vivid history. The first volume - The Birth of Britain - tells the story of the formation of the British state, from the arrival of Julius Caesar and the Roman Empire through the invasions of the Vikings and the Normans, the signing of the Magna Carta and establishment of the mother of parliaments to the War of the Roses.

'This history will endure; not only because Sir Winston has written it, but also because of its own inherent virtues - its narrative power, its fine judgment of war and politics, of soldiers and statesmen, and even more because it reflects a tradition of what Englishmen in the hey-day of their empire thought and felt about their country's past.' The Daily Telegraph Spanning Caesar's invasion of Britain to the birth of the twentieth century, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples stands as one of Winston S. Churchill's most magnificent literary works. Begun during Churchill's 'wilderness years' when he was out of government, first published in 1956 after his leadership through the darkest days of World War II had cemented his place in history, and completed when Churchill was in his 80s, it remains to this day a compelling and vivid history. This one-volume abridged edition of Churchill's major work makes accessible to readers the full sweep of his magisterial chronicle of the history of Britain. It combines Churchill's intriguing, closely observed biographical profiles of a succession of leaders - including Alfred the Great, Henry Plantagenet, Henry V, Richard III, Charles I, William Pitt and Queen Victoria - with the key events and developments that were to shape the course of history. Restored to this edition is the abridged version of the American history from the individual volumes, covering the War of American Independence and the American Civil War, each introduced by the editor.