Churchill, Roy Jenkins
Churchill, Roy Jenkins
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Churchill
A Biography

Author: Roy Jenkins

Narrator: Simon Vance

Unabridged: 38 hr 18 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 07/21/2010

Synopsis

Winston Churchill is an icon of modern history. From a very young age, Churchill believed he was destined to play a great role in the life of his nation, and he determined to prepare himself for the task. Roy Jenkins shows in fascinating detail how Churchill educated himself for greatness, how he worked out his livelihood through writing as well as his professional life in politics, and how he situated himself at every major site or moment in British imperial and governmental life. His parliamentary career was like no other, with its changes of party allegiance, its troughs and humiliations, its triumphs and peaks.In this magisterial book, Roy Jenkins’s unparalleled command of Britain’s political history and his own high-level government experience provide a nuanced appreciation of his extraordinary subject. Exceptional in its breadth of knowledge and distinguished by a penetrating intelligence, this is one of the finest political biographies of our time.

About Roy Jenkins

Roy Jenkins (1920–2003), active in British politics for half a century, was also an accomplished biographer. He entered the House of Commons as a Labour member in 1948 and subsequently served as Minister of Aviation, Home Secretary, and Chancellor of the Exchequer. From 1977–81 he was President of the European Commission. In 1987 he became Chancellor of Oxford University and took his seat in the House of Lords as Baron Jenkins of Hillhead.

About Simon Vance

Simon Vance is an award-winning actor and an AudioFile Golden Voice with over fifty Earphones Awards and thirteen prestigious Audie Awards. He was named Booklist’s very first Voice of Choice in 2008 and an AudioFile Best Voice of 2009.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Manny

I loved Churchill's History of the Second World War, so when this book came out, I bought it. It had had good reviews from people who pointed out how well-qualified Jenkins was to write about his illustrious predecessor, having himself had top posts in the British Government. Well... I wish I could s......more

Goodreads review by Anthony

A Great Man of History. This book was the epoch of my interested in reading history, having picked this book up as a secondary school pupil when it was first published. I have now come back to it twenty years later and it has reminded me of how good this book is. Roy Jenkins is an utterly masterful w......more

Quotes

“This is far and away Churchill’s best one-volume biography.” Arthur Schlesinger, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian

“From Roy Jenkins’ masterly biography, we emerge marveling at the manifold gifts that informed Churchill’s genius for leadership.” New York Times Book Review

“A first-class, well-sustained work of history and a masterpiece of biography…Of all the very many biographies of Winston Churchill that have been written, this one is the best.” Sunday Telegraph (London)

“This is a splendid addition to Churchillian lore, a chronicle full of revealing personal anecdotes, delightful wartime vignettes, and fascinating new insights into the critical 1939–1945 years.” Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

“Idiosyncratic and accessible…Jenkins’ judgments and the fact that he has boiled this eventful life down to a single volume will attract many readers…Entertaining.” Publishers Weekly

“As a veteran politician and administrator, Jenkins is well placed to evaluate Churchill’s strengths and weaknesses as a cabinet-level official.” Library Journal

“Stirring…This work is a mighty accomplishment. Jenkins illustrates eloquently how Churchill, perhaps to serve his insatiable ambition, learned to play the game of democratic electoral politics, despite his own aristocratic inclinations. Jenkins acknowledges Churchill’s stubbornness, often-destructive vanity, and tunnel vision on certain issues. Yet, Jenkins convincingly asserts, he was right far more often than he was wrong; and on the life-or-death threats posed by Nazism and then Communism, he was right sooner and in a more profound sense than any contemporary statesman. For that, the world will be forever in his debt.” Booklist

“This comprehensive, witty, and incisive tome, read by British narrator [Vance]…is an enriching entry to scholarly collections.” Booklist (audio review)

“A thoughtful and comprehensive portrait of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s remarkable life…Jenkins’ inside perspective on British politics makes his work essential reading for those interested in Churchill’s life and times.” Kirkus Reviews

Awards

  • Samuel Johnson Prize for Nonfiction Shortlist
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