Winston S. Churchill, Volume IV: World in Torment, 1916-1922

This volume spans six years of Winston Churchill’s life, from December 1916 to November 1922. For all but six months of this period he was a member of Lloyd George’s Cabinet, first at the Ministry of Munitions, then at the War Office and finally at the Colonial Office. During these six years, Churchill’s power of organization, of hard work and of oratory reached a high point, recognized by his colleagues and respected by his critics. His parliamentary speeches sustained the Government in several moments of crisis. Some of his policies were extremely well-received, others were criticized and condemned. But he himself believed that all his actions were in harmony, and that they were based upon a true understanding of the nature of events.

Book Excerpt:

13 November 1922, at a speech at Drill Hall, Dundee, as recalled by General Spears:

“After several minutes of booing and hissing, Churchill managed to speak. The Courier recorded the course of his remarks:

'I have not had much opportunity, 'he began, 'to prosecute' – (A Voice – “Why don't you go to Manchester this time?) – (laughter) – 'my campaign in Dundee. A lot of people have been criticising me – (A Voice – “You deserve it”) – but whether I deserve it or not I have a right to make my answer.' (Cheers.)”

What the author says

“In this volume my aim has been to describe Churchill’s precise role in each episode, however controversial. I have also tried to show the full range of his opinions, which were sometimes extreme, and often provoked fierce protests.”

 

What the press say

“This is the fourth volume of the massive biography begun by the late Randolph Churchill ... and the second by Mr Martin Gilbert. It is a worthy successor to Mr Gilbert's first, and that is high praise. Once again he displays his gifts of selection, construction and arrangement. It is a work of assiduous research and high scholarship. It is also wonderfully readable. Churchill, himself a master of the English language, would have no cause to complain at his biographer.” Lord Blake, The Sunday Times

“Mr Gilbert brings an enviable ability to unravel some of history's tightest granny-knots with ease and even elegance. His account in this volume of Britain's (and Churchill's) intervention in post-Revolutionary Russia against the Bolsheviks is a miniature classic of its own – lucid, comprehensive, utterly absorbing and a brilliant historical tour de force.” The Times

 

Explore the Index

Click here to view the Index (pdf)

For Map Permissions please contact info@martingilbert.com

  • Maps: 13
  • Formats: Hardback, Ebook
  • ISBN: 978-0-916308-19-3