Churchill's Shadow

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 HangoverA 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 MindStimulating, 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 HarrisWheatcroft 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 KynastonWheatcroft 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 *

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 an 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.

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.