'A gem. Brief, authoritative and fair in its judgements - an intensely readable introduction to this most complex and fascinating man' - Graham Farmelo, award-winning author of The Strangest Man

A new and dynamic reappraisal of Winston Churchill, and his finest hour in 1940-1.

Who was Winston Churchill? Even fifity years after his death he is one of the most iconic figures in British history: as a young man he was a maverick journalist, his many positions in politics before 1940 marked him out as a courageous but foolhardy man.

Yet it is Churchill's record in war, which has recently been questioned, that confirms his genius as a military commander and national leader ­- someone who understood the dangers of Nazi Germany before 1939; someone uniquely capable to lead the empire through the turmoil of the Second World War. Catherwood argues that it was Churchill's stand in 1940-41 that saved Britain and only he was able to bring together the allies that eventually defeated Hitler in 1945.

Catherwood has produced a challenging yet accessible reassessment of the life and career of Winston Churchill, lion of British history and flawed hero.