Winston's War

Churchill, 1940-1945

By: Max Hastings

Narrated by: Robin Sachs

A vivid and incisive portrait of Winston Churchill during wartime from acclaimed historian Max Hastings, Winston’s War captures the full range of Churchill’s endlessly fascinating character. At once brilliant and infuriating, self-important and courageous, Hastings’s Churchill comes brashly to life as never before. Beginning in 1940, when popular demand elevated Churchill to the role of prime minister, and concluding with the end of the war, Hastings shows us Churchill at his most intrepid and essential, when, by sheer force of will, he kept Britain from collapsing in the face of what looked like certain defeat. Later, we see his significance ebb as the United States enters the war and the Soviets turn the tide on the Eastern Front. But Churchill, Hastings reminds us, knew as well as anyone that the war would be dominated by others, and he managed his relationships with the other Allied leaders strategically, so as to maintain Britain’s influence and limit Stalin’s gains.

At the same time, Churchill faced political peril at home, a situation for which he himself was largely to blame. Hastings shows how Churchill nearly squandered the miraculous escape of the British troops at Dunkirk and failed to address fundamental flaws in the British Army. His tactical inaptitude and departmental meddling won him few friends in the military, and by 1942, many were calling for him to cede operational control. Nevertheless, Churchill managed to exude a public confidence that brought the nation through the bitter war. Hastings rejects the traditional Churchill hagiography while still managing to capture what he calls Churchill’s “appetite for the fray”. Certain to be a classic, Winston’s War is a riveting profile of one of the greatest leaders of the 20th century.

©2010 Max Hastings (P)2010 Random House

Critic reviews

"Military historian Hastings adds to his illustrious reputation with this magnificent analysis of Winston Churchill's years of greatness." ( Publishers Weekly)

Great Churchil Bio. The essential man, with warts.

I have read many books and Churchill and by Churchill. Winston's War is exceptional, and shows how and why Churchill was the essential man, anhistorically exceptional, yet imperfect leader. A visionary and an anachronism of Imperial Britian, creative and right in saving us from the Nazis, yet repleat with hairbrain and dubious ideas, but he held out and plugged the dike when defeating Hitler seem near impossible, except to him. A story of will, courage, leadership, and greatness, warts and all. We owe Churchill, big time.

Insightful, fascinating, deeply researched

Where does Winston's War rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Ranks in my personal top 10 history books. Hastings' writing is deeply researched but presented personally with his own interpretations.

Have you listened to any of Robin Sachs’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes, he's one of my favorite readers. His dialogue in other books is great. While he has less opportunity for dialogue in a narrative history, he makes the book come alive nevertheless.

Any additional comments?

A+ book and narration

One of the Best WWII Books to Listen to!

I've listened to hundreds of WWII books. This is one of the best. Learned more from this book than any 20 others combined. Insights, reactions to events, all sorts of what-were-they-really-thinking information in this book. Author pulls diary entries from random people during the time to add extra flavor to the events.

It's also very fair to all 3 of the major Allied powers. Shows the underappreciated role the USSR played in WWII, the comparative impotence of Britain as the war progressed as well as their ineffectiveness in battle, and FDR's total disregard for the people of Eastern Europe that has led to 80+ years of suppression of these peoples.

Also shows both the positives and negatives of Churchill himself, I think very fairly.

Only negative is the author goes on and on about relatively insignificant moments in the war, as if he needed to give equal column inches to each month of the war. Also, it doesn't go in to battle strategies and "action" so don't expect that. It's more of an academic work than an action movie.

Overall, maybe the best book I've ever listened to about the war...certainly the one I've learned the most from.

A Different Slice of WW 2

This book fills in details absent in general histories of WW 2, taking the point of view of the British concerning their participation in the war. The book draws on primary sources that reflect the thoughts and feelings of British people from all walks of life, but the main focus is on Winston Churchill, the extraordinary prime minister who, through the elegance of his rhetoric, his cunning
intelligence, and an indomitable will, shepherded his people through years of defeat to reach an ultimate victory. To me, the most interesting parts of the book detail Churchill's attempts to persuade a reluctant Franklin Roosevelt to commit American resources to the war. The author is honest about the unpreparedness of the British military to fight the disciplined Nazi forces, and Churchill's many futile attempts to coax Roosevelt onboard. Churchill's diplomatic and social relationships with other powerful Americans are described in an equally candid way and give insight into Britain's strained relationship with the US at the time. This is a first rate history that is also brilliantly narrated by Robin Sachs, who does a credible job of Churchill's stentorian delivery.

Great bio of a great man

Of course, there is something to be said for learning about the experiences of every day people. But if you really want to understand world events, you have to pick up a great-man biography every now and then. Even though I’ve read a lot about World War II, I feel like I got a good overview of the war from this book. And I learned a lot about the origins of the Cold War.

Churchill's Persona vis-à-vis WWII

It's an examination of his struggle to lead Britain during WWII (1939 - 1945) from the perspective of his motivations, attitudes and opinions.

Worth it

Any additional comments?

While I've been reading lots of WWII stuff over the past few years, this one fooled me. Not only did I get a better understanding of Churchill, but, for the first time, I gained a better understanding of the relative roles of Russia, the UK and the USA. You leave the book with no better feeling for Stalin but with a far greater appreciation of what the Russian people did. Nothing tarnishes Churchill, but the USA in perspective is revelatory.

Excellent

This is an excellent history and highly recommended to anyone with an interest in the 2nd world war. The narrator is outstanding and the book flows. I could not ” put it down”.

Riveting

Superb narrator. Enjoyed his Churchill impersonations. Learned things I didn't know despite having read many excellent books on the subject. Especially his relationships with Brook and other generals. Highly recommended. Max Hastings is a treasure.

Great job

Max, old boy, you've done it again!
Robin, old boy, good show!
Bravo! Encore! Well done, indeed.