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Geoffrey Wheatcroft

Churchill's Shadow: An Astonishing Life and a Dangerous Legacy Hardcover – 19 Aug. 2021

by Geoffrey Wheatcroft (Author)

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'Provocative, clear-sighted, richly textured and wonderfully readable, this is the indispensable biography of Churchill for the post-Brexit 2020s' DAVID KYNASTON

'Stimulating, erudite and above all entertaining' ROBERT HARRIS

In A.J.P. Taylor's words, Churchill was 'the saviour of his country' when he became prime minister in 1940. Yet he was also a deeply flawed character, whose personal ambition would cloud his political judgement. While Churchill's Shadow gives due credit to the achievements, it also reveals some spectacular failures; indeed, it appears that for every Finest Hour there were many more Gallipolis.

But this book goes beyond the reappraisal of a life and a career: it reveals that Churchill has cast a complex shadow over post-war British history and contemporary politics - from the 'Churchillian stance' of Tony Blair taking the country to war in Iraq to the delusion of a special relationship with the United States to the fateful belief in British exceptionalism: that the nation can once again stand alone in Europe.

Geoffrey Wheatcroft takes a radically different approach to other biographies and studies of Churchill, zooming in on crucial moments in his life that help us understand the man in his many contradictions. Churchill's Shadow both tells the story of his extraordinary life and the equally fascinating one of his legacy, focusing on how Churchill was viewed by contemporaries and those who came after.

As we struggle to work out who we are as a nation, how our complex legacies of war and empire shape our past and our present, we do that in the long shadow of Churchill. He set about writing his own myth during his lifetime and it is a myth - with all the delusions and hangovers myths bring - in whose grip we have been living in ever since.

Print length

640 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Bodley Head
Publication date

19 Aug. 2021
Dimensions

16.2 x 4.3 x 24.2 cm
ISBN-10

1847925731
ISBN-13

978-1847925732
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From the Publisher

Winston Churchill, Churchill, Geoffrey Wheatcroft, Churchill's Shadow

Product description

Review

Stimulating, erudite and above all entertaining... For any reader tired of the seemingly endless round of Churchill-worship of the last few years, Geoffrey Wheatcroft provides a lively corrective -- Robert Harris

Even readers sick of Churchill will find much to enjoy, partly because Wheatcroft is such a fluent and entertaining writer, but also because he has so many interesting and provocative things to say -- Dominic Sandbrook ― Sunday Times

Hagiographers beware; Wheatcroft has skewered the cult of Churchill hero worship. This book reminds us that while Churchill was Britain's saviour in 1940, his views on race and empire, and his military debacles from the Dardanelles to Dieppe, make it unwise to revere him like a saint -- Samir Puri, author of The Great Imperial Hangover

A clear-eyed, incisive and superbly balanced account of Churchill, the man and the myth... Much to think about in the twenty-first century -- Robert Gildea, author of Empires of the Mind

Wheatcroft is a skilled prosecutor with a rapier pen ... [Churchill's Shadow] could be the best single-volume indictment of Churchill yet written ― New York Times

Provocative, clear-sighted, richly textured and wonderfully readable, this is the indispensable biography of Churchill for the post-Brexit 2020s -- David Kynaston

Wheatcroft takes the now widely held ... view of Churchill, which is that he was reckless and racist, a "stormy petrel" in Wheatcroft's neat phrase, [and] laments the way that misinformed "Churchillism" has taken hold -- Quentin Letts ― The Times

[A] fascinating book... Churchill's Shadow is a wonderful revisioning of the sacred monster which, curiously, leaves you more in sympathy with him, because it never tries to gloss over his enormous faults, while giving full play to his amazing qualities. -- Ferdinand Mount ― Oldie

Wheatcroft declares modestly that he hasn't written a full biography... [but this] book is still the best place to start. That's not just because Wheatcroft tells you all you need to know about Churchill's life. It's because he tells you...[what] you need to know about his afterlife -- Christopher Bray ― Tablet

About the Author

Geoffrey Wheatcroft is a journalist and author, who has been Literary Editor of the Spectator, 'Londoner's Diary' Editor of the Evening Standard and a columnist for the Sunday Telegraph. He contributes regularly to the Guardian, TLS, New York Times and the New York Review of Books, and his books include The Randlords, The Controversy of Zion, which won a American National Book Award, Le Tour, The Strange Death of Tory England and Yo, Blair! He and his wife Sally Muir, the painter and designer, have two adult children and two ageing whippets. They live in Bath.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Bodley Head (19 Aug. 2021)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 640 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1847925731
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1847925732
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 16.2 x 4.3 x 24.2 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 296,756 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 384 in British Historical Biographies from 1901 Onwards
- 1,117 in Political Leader Biographies
- 1,474 in Political Structures & Processes

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115 ratings

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Customer reviews

4 out of 5

115 global ratings

5 star		51%
4 star		24%
3 star		10%
2 star		8%
1 star		7%

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Robin Hawdon

Pessimistic portrait of a complex man.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 5 July 2022

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Wheatcroft has written a highly informative and well researched account of Churchill's life, with much new information. However he rather spoils the feast with his extremely cynical view of, not only Winston himself, but everyone around him. According to Wheatcroft there is no such thing as an honourable or capable soldier or politician. They are all faulty in judgement, self-seeking, or unpleasant. And as for Churchill himself, granted he was a controversial figure, but apparently he never made a good decision in his entire career, every success was down to pure luck, and every failure down to grave misjudgement, on top of which almost everyone around him detested him. One wonders how he ever managed to achieve anything, let alone be voted the greatest Englishman of the Twentieth Century. A rather unbalanced view of a flawed but undoubtedly great man.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 23 October 2021

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This is an outstanding book. I have previously read Martin Gilbert’s & Roy Jenkins’s books; whilst some of the content is widely known such as his failures at Gallipoli and in Norway, the book raises uncomfortable truths. Churchill was undoubtedly a racist (not by standards of the day but even by the standards of the day). He championed both Montgomery & Mountbatten; both of whom appear to have led charmed lives and it seems some of his ‘inner circle’ such as Beaverbrook were less than trustworthy.

The book is very balanced and highlights that in the hour of need he was undoubtedly the right man at the right time for the country. For that he is rightly lauded but this should not detract from other aspects of his career.

I am a huge Churchill fan but this book challenges some of the accepted doctrine surrounding the man and the cult of Churchill. More to the point it shows how his name has been invoked by neo conservatives in their quest for justification of their actions.

Well worth a read.

16 people found this helpful

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RR Waller

Biased biography

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 4 September 2021

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This six hundred and twenty-five page text feels like and academic tome and the level of detail into which Wheatcroft delves is impressive (even if, as one other review lints out at length, the details are not always accurate, e.g. Kennedy’s assassination date, a day fixed indelibly in many people’s memories). An earlier reviewer has written an extensive review, listing inaccuracies, so there is no point in recounting them in this review.
Having recently read Boris Johnson’s (not so academic) biography of Churchill, written from the viewpoint of someone who not only idolises him but who tries to emulate him in many ways, I was already immersed in his life. Johnson (or whichever researcher does his writing for him) writes as a journalist and historian but a politician first, allowing leeway for critical decisions, often made under pressure. Wheatcroft writes as a journalist first and last, a journalist who considers he has the right to judge (usually critically) a huge public figure who, literally, stepped above the parapet.
The modern trends (2021) of delving into history with twenty-twenty hindsight to judge peoples of the past who were “people of their time” does not always project lives accurately, as they were lived. Judging historical figures by today’s standards is as flawed a preoccupation as some of the “flawed figures” of biographies. Woke and historic revisionism have ulterior motives which do not assist readers hoping a biography will recreate a past time trough which to understand the people of the time.
The instantaneous, modern communication provides insights previous generations did not have, e.g. 9/11 watch by millions as it happens. Communications during the periods covered in this book, e.g. Boar, First and Second World Wars, often meant decisions were taken on “old” information.
Wheatcroft had the benefits of time, leisure, modern research facilities and still, as a previous reviewer points out, he misquotes and mistakes dates and events. His sub-title - “An Astonishing Life and a Dangerous Legacy” - clarifies his viewpoint and judging criteria. He looks from the lofty towers of what he sees as “A Dangerous Legacy” at events throughout Churchill’s “Astonishing Life” and judges accordingly.
“And if I make much of Churchill’s failures and follies, that’s partly because others have made too little of them since his rise to heroic status.” (p13).
Despite the inaccuracies (many of which had passed me by) and the fact that it was yet another book on Churchill, I was informed by and enjoyed the comprehensive historical panorama created by his research but found the constant attempts to criticise and judge harshly an irritant. Churchill’s astonishing life has provided rich pickings for historians, journalists, film-makes and politicians alike and, despite his flaws, led the creation of the many of the freedoms we enjoy today. Other less judgemental but equally detailed and academic biographers, e.g. AJP Taylor and Roy Jenkins, have written earlier Churchill biographies (both of which receive brief mentions). I suggest reading these as a balance for Wheatcroft’s re-examination through the misty eye of modern criticism.

18 people found this helpful

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Norman Bates

Well written critical biography of Churchill

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 19 October 2021

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Fans of Winston Churchill have taken umbrage with Wheatcroft but I found his criticism of the great man to be well argued and founded in facts. For example, Wheatcroft makes the point that anyone walking in Gallipoli would instantly come to the conclusion that it was an impossible terrain for attacking forces to capture. I was in Gallipoli ten years ago and came to the same conclusion. Contemporary criticism of Churchill is liberally used and it's not just the author who finds fault with him.
I highly recommend this book.

15 people found this helpful

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Marten Sørensen

Item received in good condition - quality as announced!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 11 March 2022

Verified Purchase

Item received in good condition - quality as announced!

One person found this helpful

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S PERKS

Well written; poorly manufactured

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 8 September 2022

Verified Purchase

The content of the writing is extremely good, but the production of the book is poor. It is hard to open and when you do open it enough to read it the pages fall out. This is because the spine cannot hold them in. It's a "perfect" binding with a hardback casing and it is the wrong way to bind a book of this size. It is not fit for purpose. Very sad that writing of this quality has been subjected to such poor manufacture.

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