Mr. Churchill's Profession: The Statesman as Author and the Book That Defined the "special Relationship" - Couverture rigide

Clarke, Peter

Couverture rigide

ISBN 10 : 1608193721 ISBN 13 : 9781608193721

Editeur : BLOOMSBURY, 2012

Synopsis

Is it possible to offer a fresh perspective on a figure as familiar as Winston Churchill? Distinguished historian Peter Clarke shows the answer is yes. When Churchill received the Nobel Prize in 1953, it was not for his role as a world leader, but for his literature. In fact, Churchill was a gifted and successful writer long before he was a politician, publishing a stream of books and articles over the course of his life. In this engaging and revealing new narrative, Clarke traces the making of the magisterial work that occupied Churchill for a quarter century, his four-volume History of the English-Speaking Peoples.

Churchill signed the contract for History in 1932, at a time when his political career seemed over. His stunning return to power when the Nazis swept across Europe meant the book went uncompleted until the 1950s. But long before he took office, the massive project was shaping his worldview, his speeches, and his leadership: This was the work that defined the "special relationship" between Britain and America. In Mr. Churchill's Profession, Peter Clarke explores an untold chapter in history and offers an intimate new portrait of an iconic leader.

A propos du livre

Présentation de l'éditeur

In 1953, Winston Churchill received the Nobel Prize for Literature. In fact, Churchill was a professional writer before he was a politician, and published a stream of books and articles over the course of two intertwined careers. Now historian Peter Clarke traces the writing of the magisterial work that occupied Churchill for a quarter century, his four-volume History of the English-Speaking Peoples.

As an author, Churchill faced woes familiar to many others; chronically short of funds, late on deadlines, scrambling to sell new projects or cajoling his publishers for more advance money. He signed a contract for the English-Speaking project in 1932, a time when his political career seemed over. The magnum opus was to be delivered in 1939, but in that year, history overtook history-writing. When the Nazis swept across Europe, Churchill was summoned from political exile to become Prime Minister. The English-Speaking Peoples would have to wait.

The book would indeed be written and become a bestseller, after Churchill left public life. But even before he took office, the massive project was shaping his worldview, his speeches and his leadership. In these pages, Peter Clarke follows Churchill's monumental quest to chronicle the English-Speaking Peoples - a quest that helped to define the enduring 'special relationship' between Britain and America. In the process, Clarke gives us not just an untold chapter in literary history, but a fresh perspective on this iconic figure: a life of Churchill the author.

Biographie de l'auteur

Peter Clarke was formerly a professor of modern history and Master of Trinity Hall at Cambridge. His many books include Keynes: The Twentieth Century's Most Influential Economist, The Last Thousand Days of the British Empire, The Keynesian Revolution in the Making, 1924-1936 and the acclaimed final volume of the Penguin History of Britain, Hope and Glory, Britain 1900-2000. He lives with his wife, the Canadian writer Maria Tippett, in Cambridge, England, and Pender Island, British Columbia.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: BLOOMSBURY
• Date d'édition: 2012
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 1608193721
• ISBN 13: 9781608193721
• Reliure: Relié
• Nombre de pages: 347
• Coordonnées du fabricant: Buchpark GmbH; https://www.buchpark.de; ; Krügerweg 1; Trebbin; Brandenburg; 14959; Allemagne