4 July 1940, the response to Churchill's speech on Oran:
“Churchill had spoken for just under half an hour. As he ended, the whole House rose to its feet, cheering and waving Order Papers, 'as I have so often seen them do for Neville,' one MP noted. 'Only it was not little Neville's turn now.' And he added: 'Winston suddenly wept.'
“John Martin later recalled: 'I was in the House for the Oran statement, when all (except, I think, the ILP members) rose and cheered for several minutes. There had been nothing like it, people said, since Munich. Churchill himself was quite overcome and his eyes filled with tears.'
“Nine years later, Churchill himself recalled this emotional scene, 'a scene unique', he wrote, 'in my experience'.”
“My aim in this volume has been to tell Churchill's personal story, from September 1939 to December 1941. Since the war, many diaries, memoirs and historical accounts have been published about these years, including the first three volumes of Churchill's own memoirs. Each of these books has given its own insight. I have tried to weave together all the available sources, unpublished as well as published, to present a new perspective on Churchill's contribution, setting his thoughts and policies, his hopes and fears, in the context of the daily, and at times hourly, pressures of war.”
“As a jumbo-biographer of Churchill, Mr Gilbert will probably never be excelled. His mastery of sources and sense of historical context give his work unique and lasting value.”Spectator
“This volume stands out as one of the very best Gilbert has produced in this monumental series.” Financial Times
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- Maps: 22
- Formats: Hardcover, Ebook
- ISBN: 978-0916308292