Max Hastings seems to put out military history at a rate of a book a month but for this WWII biography of Winston Churchill he does rise above the normal WWII histories and provide an in-depth analysis of what Churchill was able to achieve especially during the darkest days of the war when Britain stood alone. What is also admirable in my opinion is that, unlike a lot of Churchill biographies, he is willing to paint Churchill in a negative light. Not just some quirky genius but as someone who had identifiable shortcomings which in some circumstances caused unnecessary problems and hurt England's standing among the Big 3.
If I can find one fault it is one that is common in Hasting's writing as well as in the writings of other British WWII historians. There is the idea in this work that the American's provided a mass of men and material but poor leadership. FDR is portrayed as a man of lesser intellect than Churchill and someone more naive about the Soviets. I will give Hastings his due for pointing out shortcomings in British leadership and among British troops.
This is a very interesting book and I do recommend it to any student or WWII history buff.Get more detail about Winston's War.
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