Can anyone recommend a good biography of Winston Churchill?

[Tracie]

I caught the end of 'In the Footsteps of Churchill' on BBC2 last night and found it fascinating.

 

I've just finished the book I was reading and I'd like to read a biography of Winston Churchill now, but Amazon lists about fifty! Has anyone read a biography of Churchill that they would particularly recommend?

 

I did notice that Churchill wrote an autobiography, but this is published as a series of books and I'd rather just buy one book, at least for starters Thanks!

[JoeP]

Being a fan of the great man myself, the two best single volume biogrphies are, IMO,

 

Churchill - A life, by Sir Martin Gilbert

Churchill, by Roy Jenkins.

 

An interesting view of him is given by his doctor, Lord Moran, in 'Churchill at War - 1940-1945'.

 

Depending upon which part of his life you find yourself particularly inteersted in (I have a great liking for his 'Wilderness years' when he was out of Government) you'll fidn that different biographers focus on different parts. Also, there are a number of 'specialist' biographies, such as Robin Dennistons's 'Churchill's Secret War' that looks at Churchill and the way he used military intelligence in WW2.

 

Gilbert is THE expert, IMO, on Churchill - he's done a massive, multivolume work on Churchill which I daren't even contemplate reading. Take a look at :

 

http://www.martingilbert.com/

 

Churchill has a vast output of written works himself :

 

http://www.winstonchurchill.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=452

 

But I'd say 'Start with the single volume Gilbert listed above. It's a big book, but he was a big man, in all respects.'

 

To me Churchill is a truly great and inspiring man; he had numerous 'warts', weaknesses and foibles, but, ahem, 'he rocks'.

[Tracie]

That's great - thanks for the recommendation Joe I've just had a look on Amazon and they are selling the Gilbert book for £11.21 (from £16.99) so I shall treat myself to that this afternoon!