Hero of the Empire

The Boer War, a Daring Escape, and the Making of Winston Churchill

By: Candice Millard

Narrated by: Simon Vance

From New York Times best-selling author of Destiny of the Republic and The River of Doubt, a thrilling narrative of Winston Churchill's extraordinary and little-known exploits during the Boer War.

At age 24 Winston Churchill was utterly convinced it was his destiny to become prime minister of England one day, despite the fact he had just lost his first election campaign for Parliament. He believed that to achieve his goal, he had to do something spectacular on the battlefield. Despite deliberately putting himself in extreme danger as a British army officer in colonial wars in India and Sudan and as a journalist covering a Cuban uprising against the Spanish, glory and fame had eluded him.

Churchill arrived in South Africa in 1899, valet and crates of vintage wine in tow, there to cover the brutal colonial war the British were fighting with Boer rebels. But just two weeks after his arrival, the soldiers he was accompanying on an armored train were ambushed, and Churchill was taken prisoner. Remarkably, he pulled off a daring escape - but then had to traverse hundreds of miles of enemy territory alone, with nothing but a crumpled wad of cash, four slabs of chocolate, and his wits to guide him.

The story of his escape is incredible enough, but then Churchill enlisted, returned to South Africa, fought in several battles, and ultimately liberated the men with whom he had been imprisoned. Churchill would later remark that this period, "could I have seen my future, was to lay the foundations of my later life".

Millard spins an epic story of bravery, savagery, and chance encounters with a cast of historical characters - including Rudyard Kipling, Lord Kitchener, and Mohandas Gandhi - with whom he would later share the world stage. But Hero of the Empire is more than an adventure story, for the lessons Churchill took from the Boer War would profoundly affect 20th-century history.

©2016 Candice Millard (P)2016 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Millard ably weaves a seamless and gripping narrative of the future statesman's early career and involvement in the Boer War.... [V]ivid, entertaining.... A fresh, captivating history of the enduringly colorful Churchill." ( Kirkus)

"Biographer Millard 'gets at' her subject by a somewhat out-of-left-field path that leaves the reader satisfied and feeling that her approach is right and perfect.... Millard's rendering of the exciting details of Churchill's heroic exploits result in a magnificently told story." ( Booklist)

"Simon Vance's full-throttle narration is one of the many delights in this rousing biography of Winston Churchill's youthful escapades in the Boer War." ( AudioFile)

Outstanding work

Beautifully and elligantly written and historically faithful, this is exciting and moving prose. Highly recommended .

historically amazing

I loved this book, it's the second I've listened to from this author. the first being Theodore Roosevelt and the river of doubt. both were incredible. highly recommend.

the Humbling that shaped a leader

what an intriguing, uncelebrated set of events that inevitably changed and shaped a strong, driven, self-assured aristocrat. Knowing what lies in Churchill's future role in the resilience of his mother country in the wake of the Nazi rampage, the reading audience is subtily lead to recognize the Devine intervention and weaving of tragedy, fear, loss, lonliness, hopelessness, senselessness, tenacity, leadership, patriotism, and experience to prepare the right man for the WWll crisis. Millard has an artful skill of connecting forshadowing, past events, and the present, to tell an edgy story that explains the "how" the quirky, brilliant Churchill became that man. The reader of this audio, Simon Vance, read this story in the dignity of a Brittish accent, and convincing manner of a story teller.

Another great Candice Millard Book

What made the experience of listening to Hero of the Empire the most enjoyable?

Great narrator, great story. How Winston became Winston.

What did you like best about this story?

It was like reading an action novel, but it was real

Which scene was your favorite?

The armored train.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

no

Any additional comments?

All three of Millard's novels are must-read.

What an adventure

Fantastic real life story of Churchill. Was he a war correspondent or in the military. I highly recommend this book, if you like adventure and real life facts then this will not disappoint. The courage of the Boers was something also, They won their first engagement, but pushed the empire to take them on again, but the British neglected them in prisoner camps. Most died there.
Gold was the driver of it all for the Europeans with the natives being spectators and victims.

The Drama of History

Almost all of what I knew about Winston Churchill started with the second World War. So it was with real interest that I read Hero of the Empire, to get some sense of the early life of this great man.
Candice Millard tells the story of Churchill in a style that could be fiction. It kept my interest throughout. I was also pleased to learn about the Boers, South Africa and the conflicts and courage of people on all sides.
Simon Vance is wonderful with his command of language(s) and pronunciations as well as his interpretation of the drama in the story itself.

A great period education of Sir Winston Churchill

A great period education of Sir Winston Churchill time in South Africa during the Boer war. One irritant, was the author went to great lengthens to learn how to pronounce Afrikaans words, and got the most commonly used Afrikaans word in the book INCORRECT. It is kopies NOT kop-jees. A little, sometime more irritating as the book went along, that he could have gotten that word so wrong. Kopies are small hillocks in that area, that give the country a beauty, and he used the word a lot!! Note to a narrator, when doing accents, get a local of that language/dialect to listen to the book.

It also merged Sir Churchill's accounting with another historical book that less expansive bias of his exploits.


I loved the story.

Fascinating!

Any additional comments?

I knew this snippet of Churchill's life, but I had no idea it was worthy of a movie. Millard is an excellent storyteller.

Wonderful!

this is a wonderful introduction to the man who would become a lion. the facial nature is compelling.

Great book. I highly recommend.

The historical detail is wonderful. The narrator did a fine job of reading the story and even giving a Churchillian flavor to his voice.
Well done, and well enjoyed.