William Manchester’s monumental work on Winston Churchill educates, inspires, and challenges. Though massive in volume, this is, without question, one biography worthy of the time and effort. Churchill’s story provides historical insights of events that shaped the modern world and demonstrate the power of leadership amid great crisis.

The man who saved Western civilization

From his earliest years, Churchill’s life was beset by adversity that would crush the spirits of average men. Bereft of his father’s love, alienated from the familial relationships that make for healthy, normal development, Winston learned to survive by character, courage, and wits. His endurance in the face of hardship, his unflinching bravery in battle, and his ability to command the English language explain why he has been credited as the man who saved Western civilization.

Manchester makes clear that his subject’s spiritual life was devoid of any personal relationship with God. Churchill once quipped, “my father was like God – busy elsewhere.” One gets the sense that his references to God were more a political tool than an expression of true faith. Still, there is no question that Churchill maintained a sense of destiny throughout his life and it was this sense that would sustain him through two world wars.

Resolve against incredible odds

In 1930’s England Churchill was the lone voice against Hitler’s Nazism. For years, he swam against a strong current of appeasement and pacifism. The recent film, Darkest Hour featuring Gary Oldman, admirably portrays the great man’s resolve against incredible odds. I can highly recommend both the biography and the movie, although, as is most often the case, the book is much better.

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” – Sir Winston S. Churchill

The Last Lion is a study in the dynamics of political power, recording the up and downs of Churchill’s public life. One of the most interesting of Manchester’s revelations is Churchill’s interactions with American president Franklin Roosevelt and Russian President Joseph Stalin. The author describes the post-war process by which the “iron curtain” descended on Eastern Europe, the development of the cold war, and the beginnings of the nuclear age.

A personality larger than life

It is also an account of one who lived life to the fullest. Churchill’s love for cigars, his artistic ability, his penchant for drinking to excess, his extraordinary ability to get two days work done in one, and his devotion to king and country, compose a figure who was, at times, larger than life. One of my favorite parts was Winston’s escape from a prison camp in South Africa during the Boer War. Soldier, politician, artist, historian, and statesman, Winston Churchill remains one of the greatest figures in history. He was the man who, in the hand of a sovereign God, secured the blessing of liberty for countless millions. Everyone would benefit from his story.